Mad Mike Hughes died on February 22 when the parachutes on his homemade steam rocket failed to deploy and he augured into the sagebrush near Barstow, California, like a giant lawn dart plummeting at more than 300 miles per hour. I'm not much for authority or rules. Despite the utter lack of evidence surrounding the Flat Earth theory and intense criticism from scientists like Neil deGrasse Tyson, the Flat Earth theory has gained traction in recent years (one 2018 poll found that two percent of more than 10,000 respondents harbored such views), and has been promoted by such high-profile figures as Kyrie Irving and musician B.o.B. Chute. Now theres a breakthrough. Related Hughes and Stakes were one of three teams that working to get as close to space, or the Karman line, the invisible line which is 62 miles (99.78 km) above Earths surface that is often thought of as the beginning of space., Hughes was known for attempting to blast off in a rocket that was made using mostly spare parts and during a launch in March 2018, he needed to deploy his parachute after making it a half-mile into the sky. Rare Fugazi Live Footage Stitched Into New Movie to Screen One Night Only in Washington D.C. A$AP Rocky Wonders How to Break Violent Cycles in Hip-Hop on Tribute Single Same Problems', Adi Oasis Channels High Fashion and Euphoria in Video for Ovulation Anthem Multiply. The homebrew rocket maker had dreams of fame and fortune. Mike Hughes, a go-it-alone daredevil, limousine stunt driver and self-taught astronaut who professed to believe that the Earth was flat and who was known to supporters as Mad Mike, died in a . The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office said, rocket crash off highway 247 in Barstow, California, on Saturday afternoon. The risks seemed negligible. I had no attachment to him or his rocket launches. michael hughes 1887 1957 michael hughes, Circa 1887 - 1957 . On Saturday, 64-year-old Mad Mike Hughes was killed when a rocket he was attached to crashed in the desert in San Bernardino County, California. Like any daredevil, I think theyre driven by a sense of that need to do something incredible but also to risk their life, said Toby Brusseau, who directed Rocketman, a 2019 documentary about Hughes. Grinning fiercely, Waldo told me, Im going to send this guy into space, and people are going to go, Two fucking hillbillies living in Apple Valley built a spaceship, promoted it themselves, hooked it to a balloon, and launched him into space.. [8], At the time of his death, Hughes lived in Apple Valley, California. A trial using the gene-editing tool inside the body hints at treating, or even curing, a rare fatal diseaseand is changing a community in the process. It featured the homemade rocket engineers on . Ive watched plenty of amateur high-power rocket launches over the years, and I know that they come off the rail fast, not with the deliberate majesty of a Saturn V straining against the bounds of gravity. It is believed to be a point between outer space and earths atmosphere or in simple words, beginning of the space. Its not clear how strongly he held the conviction, or if he really believed it at all. We've received your submission. More people will watch this than the supposed moon landing.. Create a free family tree for yourself or for Michael Hughes and we'll search for valuable new information for you. Throughout his career he set so many records and he was trying to add another before this tragedy took place. 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Regardless of what happened, he still built a rocket and he launched a rocket. It. She currently lives in Inglewood. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. I knew there were no backup systems. No more delays. Ive heard that some make six figures promoting a flat earth. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Hughes death just reinforced my mantra meaning, what are you willing to do if you believe in something so much? Mark Sargent, a self-described Flat Earth recruiter who was featured in the 2018 Netflix documentary Behind the Curve, tells Rolling Stone. Nature had given Hughes the heart of a 60-year-old man. Hughes was a member of the Flat Earth . Even an itinerant desert rat and amateur snake expert who answered to the name King Daddy Master. I asked them if they had any idea how off-the-charts dangerous this was? When Waldo scampered clear, I repositioned myself behind an EMS van for protection. A steam rocket is a relatively straightforward device. Mike Hughes started to gain the limelight after setting a Guinness world record holder for jumping 103-foot in a Lincoln Town Car stretch limo. An O-ring failed. Ad Choices, DIY Rockets, Daredevils, and the Tragedy of Mad Mike Hughes. It made him feel alive to do these types of stunts. I really appreciate it, Mike told me about an hour before the crash. As of 2020, Mikes net worth was estimated at $500 thousand. Death. Michael passed away of cause of death on month day 1958, at age 5 at death place, Colorado. Also, after a visual inspection, other members of the crew were convinced that the rocket was going to clip the frame of the launch rig on the way up. Hughes' death was confirmed by Waldo Stakes, a longtime collaborator of the stunt man, and a representative of The Science Channel which is part of Discovery and had been following Hughes' rocket mission for their new show Homemade Astronauts. This was it. Trying to set a land speed record or breaking the sound barrier struck me as goals worth aspiring to. After years of close calls, the 64-year-old Hughes met his end Saturday when he was killed during the launch of a homemade rocket gone awry outside Barstow. That launch seemed to go flawlessly, as the parachute remained intact and slowed his descent. It was always his dream to do this launch, and Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey, the TV network said in a statement. There has never been another death on the field. There have been other terrible injuries. He raised only $310. It took me two years to figure out how this works. When the superheated water is released, it passes through a nozzle at the base of the fuselage and turns to steam, producing the thrust necessary to launch the rocket. A rival steam-engine builder. Science Channel wrote, "Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes tragically passed away today during an attempt to launch his homemade rocket. But he was impressed with the audacity of Mikes vision. Our thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends during this difficult time. Even Sargent, a member of a community that raised money to support Hughes daredevil efforts, questioned the decision to make the documentary. The direct cause of death was a coronary thrombosis, which caused a massive myocardial infarction that cut off the blood flow to his heart. In a press release shared by The Hollywood Reporter, Mike Hughes and Waldo Stakes are working on a manned rocket to space, designing what they call a rock-oon part rocket, part balloon that they hope to use to get Hughes to the Karman line, the border between Earths atmosphere and outer space, which is about 62 miles high. And Ill always regret it. Mad Mike Hughes just launched himself in a self-made steam-powered rocket and crash landed. After he shared his belief of a flat earth, he gained support from the Flat-Earth community. I didnt join them. Afterward, he reportedly collapsed and needed several days to recover. RIP Mike Hughes Turns out that a pair of auxiliary chutes had blown off the rocket as it left the launch rail. Hughes famously launched himself nearly 1,900 feet upward in a homemade steam-powered rocket early in 2018. I wont be able to get out of bed. I talked to a couple from Fountain Valley whose sons had met Waldo and Mike, and I hung for a bit with a pair of local firefighters whod seen something about the launch on social media. Saturdays launch was to be Hughes highest yet; he was attempting to travel 5,000 feet into the air. It featured the homemade rocket engineers on their mission to prove that the Earth was flat, and shaped like a frisbee. The 64-year-old American daredevil and flat Earth cons The plan was to start heating the boiler shortly after dawn Saturday. Although some of the steam went through the nozzle, much of it escaped to the left, propelling the rocket to the right as it came off the launch rail. Indeed, there is evidence that Hughes claimed to be a flat-earther as a publicity stunt. This story has been shared 114,809 times. His journey was to be featured on Homemade Astronauts, a series on the Science Channel. On Saturday, February 22, Mike Hughes, aka Mad Mike Hughes, died in the crash of his homemade rocket. Periodically, Waldo would call me with updates. The 1:53 min long video was directed by Kansas Bowling and featured footage of his "Flat Earth" rocket launch in Apple Valley. That is nonsense. In 1974, he turned pro, and in 1979, he became the top Ice Speedway motorcycle racer in the U.S., the biography says. The more outlandish and provocative the content, the more interest, and hence more views. When I raised this on a flat-earth discussion group after Hughes death, one flat-earther objected strenuously. Friends and family. I spent four days over two weekends in Amboy. Mike, along with Waldo Strakes, built a homemade steam-powered rocket whose intention was to fly 5000 feet in the year. His birth name was Michael Hughes. In the year 2016, Mike launched a program to make a rocket but failed by earning $310. The project sounded insanely sketchy. He seriously injured his back when a mountain of car tires intended to cushion his landing separated, and he crashed into a wall. [5][6][7] He stated during an interview with the Associated Press in 2018 that he had planned to run for Governor of California. He reached a height of 1,875 feet. On social media, many outside the community poked fun at Hughes death, referring to him as a Darwin Award nominee and joking that his death was in itself proof of the effect of gravity. But its the price I pay for a life thats not boring.. When he paused, a woman asked in a small, breathless voice: Is he OK? No, Waldo said flatly. Insanethats what I was thinking. Sure enough, I approached WIRED and got a green light. The rocket came down about a mile away, near some hills to the north. So the carnival headed back to Amboy last summer. To be sure, Mike was a conspiracy theorist par excellence. Roys Motel & Caf, the only retail establishment in Amboy (population: 4) on famous Route 66. Im sure that many other flat-earthers will continue to revere Hughes as one of their own as they mourn his death. The rocket flew for 22 seconds after the last of the steam dissipated, but Mike never responded to radio communications. I knew that the previous three launches had only barely avoided catastrophe. Since Mike was unable to heed his crews instructions, he failed to deploy his backup parachute before reaching the launchs apex. "There were a couple of live streamers, like . Did you find any mistake? Its easy to ridicule the Mike Hugheses of the world, have-nothings who gamble their lives on a lottery offering only a microscopic chance of success. This Christmas, Its Firmageddon as Climate Change Hits Oregon, More than a million acres of state forest contain trees that have succumbed to stressors exacerbated by a multiyear drought, A New Computer Proof Blows Up Centuries-Old Fluid Equations. 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