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Flat-Earther dies in home-made rocket crash

Well I guess there is no denying his commitment to his craft :shock:

'Mad' Mike Hughes dies after crash-landing homemade rocket - BBC News

A US daredevil pilot has been killed during an attempted launch of a homemade rocket in the Californian desert.

"Mad" Mike Hughes, 64, crash-landed his steam-powered rocket shortly after take-off near Barstow on Saturday.

A video on social media shows a rocket being fired into the sky before plummeting to the ground nearby.

Hughes was well-known for his belief that the Earth was flat. He hoped to prove his theory by going to space.


This is like news reel level nuttery. What did he think he would see at 5,000 feet that he couldn't see out of the window of a passenger jet flying 7 times higher than that? Did someone ever think of taking him aside and talking him into trying skydiving first? Granted, the parachute deployed on lift off which doomed him.

I remember when I was a kid and this kind of nuttery made it on Wide World of Sports, or as a special TV event starring Evel Kneivel. I guess this was no different. Kneivel was a bad chute deployment away from dead at least once... and so is every sky diver ever, to be completely honest. I guess this one seems worse because somehow the flat-Earth nonsense makes his death more senseless than had he launched just to see if he could... it takes the sense of adventure and replaces it with a sense of stupidity.
 
Well I guess there is no denying his commitment to his craft :shock:

'Mad' Mike Hughes dies after crash-landing homemade rocket - BBC News

A US daredevil pilot has been killed during an attempted launch of a homemade rocket in the Californian desert.

"Mad" Mike Hughes, 64, crash-landed his steam-powered rocket shortly after take-off near Barstow on Saturday.

A video on social media shows a rocket being fired into the sky before plummeting to the ground nearby.

Hughes was well-known for his belief that the Earth was flat. He hoped to prove his theory by going to space.

Putting aside for the moment his belief, the fact that he built and rode a steam powered rocket previously to an altitude of over 1800 feet is impressive.

Rest in peace.
 
Did he not believe in gravity either? Even if he thought the earth was flat and if he could get to space that would give him the evidence he needs (which is nuts). Did he really think steam could provide the amount of thrust needed to escape gravitational pull of the earth?

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I agree that a steam powered rocket sounds impractical. That's why I'm developing a windmill powered rocket, which will be supplemented by a coal-burning, triple expansion steam engine from a WW2 era cargo ship. The windmill will power the ship from takeoff to orbit, then the supplemental steam power will become necessary, because wind in space isnt quite as common and reliable as Earth wind.

I'ts unique propulsion has inspired an all-original title. It's name will be emblazoned on its fuselage. It'll read, "Earth Wind & Fire", since it's being powered by wind on Earth, and fire in space!
 
Holy Sheep !!

From tragedy to comedy so well done !

Thanks for the great laughs everyone.. windmill powered rocket ..here I thought the steam powered idea was novel & silly LOL



...wind in space isnt quite as common and reliable as Earth wind.
 
All he had to do was turn off the porn and look out at the window at night.

View attachment 67274271

If the shadow's edge is round every time then one has to deduce that the only solid that always projects a round shadow is a sphere.

You're right, but you included a picture of a crescent moon. Crescent moons are caused by the roundness of the moon, not Earth.
 
Well I guess there is no denying his commitment to his craft :shock:

'Mad' Mike Hughes dies after crash-landing homemade rocket - BBC News

A US daredevil pilot has been killed during an attempted launch of a homemade rocket in the Californian desert.

"Mad" Mike Hughes, 64, crash-landed his steam-powered rocket shortly after take-off near Barstow on Saturday.

A video on social media shows a rocket being fired into the sky before plummeting to the ground nearby.

Hughes was well-known for his belief that the Earth was flat. He hoped to prove his theory by going to space.

Steam Powered Rocket? Jesus Chrr..ist! Didn't it dawn on him that the steam just might run out sometime?
 
Steam Powered Rocket? Jesus Chrr..ist! Didn't it dawn on him that the steam just might run out sometime?

Not as long as he brought along hundreds of gallons of water and hundreds of pounds of coal to heat up the water.... Fortunately, all the weight of the coal and water will only be a detriment until he reaches an altitude of 500 feet, whereafter the physics of our flat Earth mean that gravity no longer effects the rocket! Lol
 
Not as long as he brought along hundreds of gallons of water and hundreds of pounds of coal to heat up the water.... Fortunately, all the weight of the coal and water will only be a detriment until he reaches an altitude of 500 feet, whereafter the physics of our flat Earth mean that gravity no longer effects the rocket! Lol

I'm sure we both knew that his so-called Space Flight was in big trouble when we saw the two words: Homemade and Rocket. :) :)
 
While he failed to prove that the earth was flat he did manage to flatten himself
 
I agree that a steam powered rocket sounds impractical. That's why I'm developing a windmill powered rocket, which will be supplemented by a coal-burning, triple expansion steam engine from a WW2 era cargo ship. The windmill will power the ship from takeoff to orbit, then the supplemental steam power will become necessary, because wind in space isnt quite as common and reliable as Earth wind.

I'ts unique propulsion has inspired an all-original title. It's name will be emblazoned on its fuselage. It'll read, "Earth Wind & Fire", since it's being powered by wind on Earth, and fire in space!

Poul Anderson wrote an SF story about a rocket that was powered by fermenting beer.
 
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