Man Who Launched Himself in Rocket to Prove Earth is Flat Dies in Crash Landing

“Mad” Mike Hughes, the Flat Earther who planned to launch a rocket high enough to “prove” Earth is flat, has died in a failed launch.

Hughes, whom I interviewed on multiple occasions (he once said to me, “GO F*CK YOURSELF” in response to my inquiries), reportedly died after his self-made rocket crash-landed in Southern California. I described Hughes as a “future Darwin Award winner” in November 2017 and reported on another one of his failed launches later.

It turns out that wasn’t far off the mark. The limo driver and amateur stuntman’s steam-powered device was recorded crashing into the ground, according to TMZ.

The well-known daredevil and amateur rocket-engineer was doing a rocket launch Saturday in what appears to be near Barstow, CA — where a reporter says Mike propelled himself into the air with a “self-made steam-powered rocket” and then crash-landed into the ground.

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In the video, you see a parachute fly out of the rocket, but it doesn’t appear anyone is using it. The presumption, for now, is that Mike might’ve stayed in the rocket as it ascended hundreds of feet into the air.

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For Saturday’s experiments, Mike is said to have been attempting to get as close to space from Earth as possible — otherwise known as the Karman line, about 62 miles above Earth’s surface — without the use of advanced tech you might find at NASA or SpaceX.

The stunt, and therefore Hughes’ demise, was likely being recorded as part of a Discovery Channel TV deal.

It’s true this guy was an attention hog and kind of a jerk. It’s also true that he believed he could prove the Earth was flat if he launched his homemade rocket high enough. Still, I’m not one to celebrate a death. I will say, however, that this is what most of us expected would eventually happen based on his bad choices. This was a preventable death fueled by a lifetime of irrational choices.