Mike Hugues was known as the "crazy Mike." I was convinced that the Earth was flat. He also believed that in reality man had never gone to space. And, when you are convinced of those things, ideas arise. Like creating your own spaceship. A steam-powered ship that demonstrates its theories. This, of course, cannot end well. This is the story of the terraplanist who died in his homemade rocket.
Chasing a dream
Hughes' feat carried out this Saturday was filmed as part of "Homemade Astronauts." It is a new television series about amateur rocket manufacturers. It is ready to air on the Science Channel in the United States. The project had to be done with a tight budget.
It was not the first time that the American tried to go to space. After several failed tests, this time the "crazy Mike" wanted to reach 5,000 feet (1,525 meters), according to information published on the space.com site.
A video on social networks shows how the rocket is shot into the sky before falling to the ground. In addition, you can see how a parachute is deployed behind the rocket. Apparently too early, just seconds after takeoff. Through his Twitter account, the Science Channel said Hughes had died "chasing his dream."
After the accident, the San Bernardino County Police Station said its officers were alerted to the failed launch of the rocket around 2:00 p.m. local time on Saturday.
"A man was pronounced dead after the rocket crashed in the open desert," police said while a close friend of Hughes confirmed to the US media that the pilot had died.
A unique man
Darren Shuster, a former representative of "crazy Mike," told the TMZ website that the pilot was "one of a kind." «When God made Mike, he broke the mold. The man lived to the limit. It wouldn't have come out any other way! RIP, ”he said.
Hughes and his assistants built the homemade rocket in their backyard, spending around US $ 18,000. The ship used steam expelled through a nozzle for propulsion. The daredevil, who lived in Apple Valley, made news when he announced his intention to prove his theory that the Earth was flat.
In March of last year, Hughes achieved an altitude of 1,870 feet (570 meters) before deploying his parachutes and landing with a blow. After that, Hughes said: "I'm glad I did it?" I suppose. I will feel it in the morning. I will not be able to get out of bed. At least I can go home, and have dinner and see my cats tonight.
The terraplanist who died in his home rocket set a curious Guinness world record. It has the longest limousine jump: more than 31 meters in a Lincoln Town Car limo. You can't deny that he was an adventurer. Although it failed.
