If you believed that the Earth was flat, and you wanted to prove it, how would you go about doing it? Mike Hughes' idea is to build a homemade rocket and see for himself.
The 61-year-old limousine driver in California is planning to prove that the world is indeed flat by launching himself in a rocket built in his garage from meager funds and scrap parts. With a launch date set for Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, Hughes will be fine-tuning his steam-powered rocket right up until launch time.
That’s right: steam-powered. This guy plans to get into outer space using 19th-century technology.
via msn.com
According to Hughes, who has no formal training in science or engineering, or anything else remotely academic, his rocket will reach a top speed of 500 mph (which is roughly two thirds the speed of sound) and reach a maximum altitude of 1800 feet. After being launched from a heavily modified mobile home trailer, Hughes and rocket will follow a ballistic path that takes them a mile out into the Mojave desert before a parachute opens and man and machine gently descends back to Earth.
According to Hughes’ website, the launch will be at Amboy California, and will not be open to the public. It will, however, be available to watch via pay-per-view streaming.
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Hughes’ website also has a link to flat-Earth society videos, along with a headline that reads, "The only man in history to design, build, and launch himself in a rocket.”
“It’ll shut the door on this ball earth,” Hughes said during a fundraiser with a flat-Earth group.
via msn.com
It seems that Hughes is a recent convert to flat-Eartherism. After his 2014 launch that ended with Hughes’ rocket crashing and him requiring weeks to recover, he launched a Kickstarter campaign to upgrade his rocket and prepare for a second launch. That campaign raised $310 of its $150,000 goal.
Following that, Hughes found the flat-Earth society and began to make overtures to them. On a recent flat-Earth community web show, Hughes called in and announced his agreement with their tenants. “We were kind of looking for new sponsors for this. And I’m a believer in the flat Earth,” Hughes said. “I researched it for several months.”
A subsequent GoFundMe campaign organized by the flat-Earthers raised nearly $8000 for Hughes.
Now Hughes has painted “Research Flat Earth” in solidarity with his new cohort and plans to launch his $20,000.00 rocket on Saturday.
Hughes acknowledged the inherent risks with his plan in a recent interview with the Associated Press.
“It’s scary as hell,” Hughes said. “But none of us are getting out of this world alive.”
Truer words were never spoken, although most of us don’t try to meet our ends strapped to a homemade, steam-powered rocket ship.