With time their family will shares his funeral information publically. Waldo speculates that the violence of the shift knocked Mike unconscious. A risk that was too high. On the 3rd of February 2018, Mike began his live-stream, where his rocket steam release malfunction leading the launch aborted. Predictably, everything went wrong during the next attempt, when Mikes latest steam rocket ignited prematurely, before hed even climbed into the cockpit. I put my trust in Waldos assessment of Mike: Hes got a lucky star. The homebrew rocket maker had dreams of fame and fortune. [16] The steam-powered rocket launched at a sharp angle to avoid falling back to Earth on public land, and landed about 1,500 feet (460m) away from the launch point. Heres a timeline, Crusading vet treats some of L.A.s most cherished residents: The pets of skid row, The Times podcast: How the California GOP lost its national sway, Veterans claim anti-vet bias in Metros choice of muralist for a new VA station, California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection, Caregiver sentenced to life in prison for unspeakable sexual abuse of disabled children. He appeared in the 2019 documentary "Rocketman - Mad Mike's Mission to Prove the Flat-Earth". We usually watch his matches on our DVR, long after theyve been played. Chute. Hughes acknowledged there were risks, telling the Associated Press: "It's scary as hell. On Saturday, he was working on to launch a self made rocket for a new science series called Homemade Astronauts and he was going to be featured on TV show on Discoverys Science Channel. When Waldo scampered clear, I repositioned myself behind an EMS van for protection. The tragic difference here is that he was duped into a ridiculous and unnecessary proof of something that is already beyond requiring any further evidence. But I didnt say anything, just as Id never said anything about the lack of an automatic parachute-deployment system, which seemed like a no-brainer. Larry and I found them about 20 yards away, a shredded tangle of green-and-purple nylon. I didnt see it. He announced at that meeting that he was negotiating a deal with a TV network to cover his launch attempts. I took Mike aside and told him, Dont get in that rocket unless you feel comfortable. As it happened, the rocket wasnt ready to fly in time. But that project, while far-fetched, had some legitimate merits, whereas this was purely a PR stunt. He built his first manned rocket in 2014 a contraption he called the X-2 SkyLimo and managed to launch himself more than 1,300 feet over Winkelman, Ariz., he told the Associated Press. In 2017, Mike and Waldo trucked a new rocket deep into the Mojave Desert to a barren stretch of land near the tiny Route 66 outpost of Amboy. But it occurred to me that if Hughes were to die in a launch, those promoting the flat-earth movement would have at least some blood on their hands. Help us to update this page. 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. He later raised $7,875 in a flat-Earth fundraising campaign. Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. The project sounded insanely sketchy. Mad Mike Hughes working on his steam-powered rocket before a test launch in Amboy, California, in August 2019. It was always his dream to do this launch & Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey". So the carnival headed back to Amboy last summer. 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.. Mike wanted to build the rocket himself, he said. Hell, Im on Medicaid!. He collapsed after the landing. This story has been shared 100,258 times. The US is more alert to the risks of strep infections, but the UK has better data. Its not clear if he was successful. World of Wonder Productionsthe television company behind RuPauls Drag Raceevidently reached a similar conclusion and signed Mike and Waldo to a Science Channel reality show tentatively titled Homemade Astronauts. Is the US Next? https://www.instagram.com/thisisrocketman/?utm_source=ig_embed. He was also a flat-Earth conspiracy theorist known for flying self-built rockets. Privacy Policy and
You could argue that Mike knew what he was getting into, and hed signed the liability waivers to prove it. Similarly, those who promote the flat-earth movement (primarily on the internet), particularly such stunts, bear some responsibility for Hughes death. Mike Hughes taking a break in August 2019 while prepping his rocket for a launch in the Mojave Desert. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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Hughes said afterward, Am I glad I did it? Waldo intended to use a hydrogen peroxide rocket to allow Mike to breach the so-called Karman line, 62 miles above Earths surface. Before his death, Mike had lived a married man. Unprompted, Waldo offered a technical appraisal of what had gone wrong. Originally from Oklahoma City, Hughes started attending car races with his father at 2 months old and began racing motorcycles at the age of 12, according to an author biography for his 2007 self-published book, What Does A Limo Driver Know About NASCAR.. A Philadelphia native, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in medical anthropology and global health. The video, posted to Twitter by Justin Chapman, a freelance journalist who witnessed and recorded the fatal crash, begins by showing the self-made rocket seconds before it takes off from a guide rail attached to a large white truck in Barstow, California. Well, of course he got killed. Certainly Hughes was a daredevil who knew the risks of these rocket launches, and regardless of his incentives, tragically paid the ultimate price for his celebrity. For me, Flat Earth is bigger than my friends and family and even my own life. A US daredevil pilot has been killed during an attempted launch of a homemade rocket in the Californian desert. Released in August 2019, this 94-minute documentary, co-directed by Toby Brusseau and Michael Linn, starred Mike Hughes, Waldo Sykes, Patrick Marchese. What happened during 9/11. He further added that rockets are mostly self built through trial and error and you dont get a lot of second chances, though, in the rocket business. It is unknown to us exactly what he did to earn an income, but it was clearly earning something because he invested a lot into building his home made rockets trying to prove his false claims of flat earth. Felix Baumgartner and Alan Eustace had spent a gazillion dollars and years of preparation on sophisticated equipment and huge engineering teams to ride balloons up 24 and 26 miles, respectively, and then parachute back to terra firma. [22] The launch event was being filmed for the Science Channel television series Homemade Astronauts, in which Hughes was to star. However, a BLM spokesman said its local field office had no record of speaking to Hughes at the time. Hughes, who believed the Earth is flat, had previously said his goal was to fly to the edge of outer space and see for himself if the world is round. Mad Mike died at the age of 64. The 1:53 min long video was directed by Kansas Bowling and featured footage of his "Flat Earth" rocket launch in Apple Valley. It was always his dream to do this launch, and Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey. They did not respond to a follow-up question regarding the ethics of chronicling said journey, given the major risks involved and the unscientific nature of Flat Earth conspiracy theories. He postponed his launch due to mechanical troubles. Mike and Waldo were an odd couplea bantam rooster with a shock of gray-white hair and a solid redwood with tattooed biceps. But none of us are getting out of this world alive. Then we waited anxiously for Mike to deploy the parachutes. Need to estimate, from trillions of miles away, how likely another world is to host life? Video of the tragic accident, which took place in Barstow, California, was captured by reporter Justin Chapman. So Waldo invited Mike to live on property he owned on the southern edge of the Mojave in Apple ValleyWaldo had whimsically dubbed it El Ranchito Raketeand it was there that work commenced on a new-and-improved launch vehicle. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Chapmans unfortunate footage captures the first parachute disconnecting shortlyafter the rocket began its ascent and then freefalling. Still, other flat-earthers believe that Hughes never thought the earth is flat but merely used the flat-earth movement to gain fame and financial backing. I knew, and I was there just the same. The rocket came down about a mile away, near some hills to the north. He shared a video on Twitter and said Mad Mike Hughes just launched himself in a self-made steam-powered rocket and crash landed. He was likable, funny, and surprisingly boyish for somebody who was nearly 64. Terms of Service apply. Videos of the launch show that his parachute opened and detached from the rocket almost instantly, dooming Hughes to a high-velocity impact on the desert floor shortly after that. [27][28], Hughes was the main focus of the 2019 documentary Rocketman: Mad Mike's Mission to Prove the Flat-Earth. 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