MIKE, THROW THE GODDAMNED CHUTE!. Indeed, there is evidence that Hughes claimed to be a flat-earther as a publicity stunt. I asked them if they had any idea how off-the-charts dangerous this was? WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. [29][30], Daredevil Mad Mike Hughes Death, Rocket Crash, reach above the atmosphere into outer space, List of inventors killed by their own inventions, "Self-Taught Rocket Scientist Mad Mike Hughes Plans to Launch Over Ghost Town", "Daredevil dies after homemade rocket crashes in desert while filming TV show", "Death of rocket man 'Mad Mike' Hughes ends years of close calls", "A flat-Earther's plan to launch himself in a homemade rocket has been postponed again", "Flat-Earther's steam-powered rocket lofts him 1,875 feet up into Mojave Desert sky", "Flat-Earther 'Mad' Mike Hughes forced to delay launch of homemade rocket", "A flat-Earther's plan to launch himself in a homemade rocket just hit a speed bump", "Self-taught rocket scientist 'Mad' Mike Hughes blasts off into California sky", "Self-taught rocket scientist eyes new launch date in Calif", "Analysis | A flat-earther finally tried to fly away. But Mike wanted to fly higher, faster, farther. I really appreciate it, Mike told me about an hour before the crash. Help us share the truth of Gods Word and the gospel! Rocketry geeks. 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. Daredevil "Mad Mike" Hughes died during an attempt to launch his homemade rocket Saturday. Although Mike was a fine fabricator and an excellent mechanic, he knew nothing about rocketry, and he was constantly running up against his technical limitations. "[5] A fundraising campaign to cover the costs of the delay raised around $100 of its $10,000 goal. According to CBC News, Hughes collapsed after the landing and it took him three days to recover. Fifty-fifty! Despite making a hard landing in the Mojave Desert, he sustained no serious injuries. Given the tragic turn of events, its doubtful that this series will go forward. CHUTE! RIP Mike Hughes All Rights reserved. His mission was to launch his vesselto a height of 35,000-feet in an attempt to confirm his theory that the earth is flat. Chute. I think the mainstream media gave him way more attention than he deserved. The root of this objection, however, had less to do with safety and more to do with community members questioning the purity of his motives, the seriousness of his project he never contributed anything evidential, as far as Im aware, says Long or his alignment with the Flat Earth cause. Mike, along with Waldo Strakes, built a homemade steam-powered rocket whose intention was to fly 5000 feet in the year. 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. His birth name was Michael Hughes. Released in August 2019, this 94-minute documentary, co-directed by Toby Brusseau and Michael Linn, starred Mike Hughes, Waldo Sykes, Patrick Marchese. The canopies shredded. On February 22,Daredevil Mad Mike Hughes perishedwhen his steam-engined rocket crashed in the Barstow, California desert. A self-taught engineer, Hughes was also a staunch flat-earther. I think thats what hit us then and there: this is completely dangerous. He wanted the fame and the girls, Sargent says, adding that Hughes had sued him and other Flat Earth figures, claiming his name was his legal property. What did he expect? Hughes said afterward, Am I glad I did it? The next year, he tried for a new record of 125 feet, covering his body in bubble wrap and gunning his 3-ton white Cadillac limousine up a ramp at 65 mph at the Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino. For shame on you all. Not only that, he was a Guinness world record holder for jumping 103-foot in a Lincoln Town Car stretch limo. "There were a couple of live streamers, like . Although a public promoter of the flat Earth model, following his death his public relations representative said that Hughes had only used flat Earth as a PR stunt to acquire funding for his rockets. A smattering of reporters and photographers. [1][11] After professing his belief in a flat Earth later that year, Hughes gained support within the flat-Earth community. Information about his parents and siblings will be updated soon. No chute. On Saturday, February 22, Mike Hughes, aka Mad Mike Hughes, died in the crash of his homemade rocket. The 64-year-old American daredevil and flat Earth cons Michael passed away of cause of death on month day 1958, at age 5 at death place, Colorado. This story has been shared 114,809 times. Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Daredevil Flat Earther 'Mad Mike' Hughes Dies When Self-Made Rocket Crashes I think he honestly meant it. But we also knew that the boldness of the project, the eccentricities of the central characters, and the challenges of hacking together a homebuilt spacecraft on a shoestring budget would make for a compelling read. But its the price I pay for a life thats not boring.. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesfrom culture to business, science to design. Science Channel wrote, "Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes tragically passed away today during an attempt to launch his homemade rocket. And they planned to do it with a spacecraft built at El Ranchito Rakete. The calculations to launch a payload into space, whether a satellite or a human being, have been well understood ever since 1944, when a Nazi V-2 designed by Wernher von Braun first left Earths atmosphere. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time. 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. The UK Is Enduring an Onslaught of Scarlet Fever. Nobody could find the pylons for the guy wires supporting the launch rail. According to PubMed.com, to visuall see the Earths curvature one must travel to an altitude of around 35,000 feet. Mike Hughes and his rocket at the 2018 Flat Earth International Conference I attended in Denver. This earned him a speaking spot at the 2018 Flat Earth International Conference (FEIC) in Denver. Then somebody muttered, You dont survive that., Although paramedics hustled to the crash, there was no official announcement. There was no official anything. To them, this was just a lark. The reaction of the flat-earth community has been varied. Incredibly, the team was still dicking around with technical issues when I drove up. Hughes was always planning his next stunt, with each one taking him higher than the last. After he shared his belief of a flat earth, he gained support from the Flat-Earth community. Im also concerned that impressionable people might see the attention that Hughes sought in life and is now getting and might be induced to try similar dangerous things. He built his first crewed rocket in January 2014. It seemed odd to many that Hughes believed the Earth was flight despite being a rocket engineer. He successfully launched his rocket on 24 March 2018. Everybody lingered near the launch pad in a surreal state of shock and confusion. Water stored in a vessel is heated to reach a predetermined pressure. Its not clear what went wrong. According to a journal published in. Get the HOTTEST Music, News & Videos Delivered Weekly. CHUTE! [1] He said in November 2017 that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had given him verbal permission more than a year prior to launch his rocket, pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. 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. Its not clear which makes more difference in controlling disease. The series was scheduled to air on the US Science Channel. Fame and fortune? We couldnt see clearly how it had landed. Information about his personal life is not available. 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. 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. Theres a flowchart for that. 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. A former stuntman, Hughes had done two rocket launches prior to his death, one in 2014 and one in 2018, from which he emerged without major incident. Nature had given Hughes the heart of a 60-year-old man. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Deontay Wilder Biography, Age, Height, Fiancee, Net Worth, Zo Kravitz Biography, Age, Height, Husband, Net Worth, Charlie Heaton net worth Career and Personal Life, Joe Arpaio Net Worth Career and Personal Life, Wyatt Russell Net Worth Career and Personal Life, Eric Decker Net Worth, Career and Personal Life, Brandon Sheets Net Worth, Personal Life and More, Christy Martin Net Worth, Early Life and Career, Sanya Richards-Ross Net Worth, Career and Personal Life, Julius Peppers Net Worth, Career and Personal Life, Austin Trout Net Worth, Early Life, Physical Measures, Kyle Kuzma Biography, Age, Height, Spouse and Net Worth, Mavado, His Career, Net Worth and Personal Life, Christopher Martin, his Net Worth, Career, Personal Life, Arlo Guthrie Net Worth, Biography and More, Johnny Van Zant Net Worth, Biography, Lifestyle and More, Tommy James Net Worth, Biography, Age, Height and Spouse, Willie Falcon Net worth, Biography and Information, Jack Canfield Net Worth, Career, Biography and More, Dr. Michael Beckwith Net Worth, Biography and More, Isaac Mizrahi, Biography, Net Worth, Family, John Maxwell Net Worth, Biography, Bibliography and More, What was Mad Mike Hughes marital status? Daredevil Mad Mike Hughes perishedwhen his steam-engined rocket crashed, https://twitter.com/_/status/1231336002175717376. For me, the Research Flat Earth livery on the rocket was tangible proof that the project was nothing more than a circus sideshow, and I was relieved that Id stayed away. No, I didnt kill Mike, but I was part of the ecosystem that exploited him, and thats on me. Two armed but unopened parachutes were still attached to the rocket when it came down. Then, he planned to launch the rocket on the 10th of August 2019, which was postponed. With 90 gallons of water in the tank, the goal was to reach an altitude of one mile. Instead of Amboy, it would take place in a less remote spotwith cell phone service, hallelujah!eight miles south of Barstow. It featured the homemade rocket engineers on . Waldo (left) and Mike confer at the launch in Amboy. Mad Mike Hughes just launched himself in a self-made steam-powered rocket and crash landed. He was quite the celebrity among that flat-earthers at that meeting. Daredevil 'Mad' Mike Hughes has died after launching himself into the air on a homemade rocket that later crash landed, possibly due to a parachute malfunction. All of them prominently featured Mikes harmlessly harebrained belief that the Earth was flat. During his failed rocket launch in March 2018, the $20K rocket was named Research Flat Earth, and was crowdfunded by a group of the same name. On Saturday, February 22, Mike Hughes, aka "Mad" Mike Hughes, died in the crash of his homemade rocket. He had said he intended to make multiple rocket journeys, culminating in a flight to outer space, where he believed he would be able to take a picture of the entire Earth as a flat disc. I headed to Barstow first thing Saturday morning feeling a sense of dread. Hell, Im on Medicaid!. Ill officially say that.. Because Mike never reached the point of climbing into the rocket, I never had to confront the disturbing possibility that he might blow himself up or be pulverized in a crash landing. He seriously injured his back when a mountain of car tires intended to cushion his landing separated, and he crashed into a wall. The cartoon book includes 400 drawings covering the aviation industry. "Mad" Mike Hughes, 64, crash-landed his steam-powered rocket shortly after. However, he hadnt shared any further information regarding his marriage and who is his wife. [22] The launch event was being filmed for the Science Channel television series Homemade Astronauts, in which Hughes was to star. I figured that would be the end of it. The tension was growing, and so, it seemed to me, was the possibility of a last-minute mistake. He flipped over before reaching a cushion of tires but was unhurt. He Jiankui discusses his plans for finding cures for devastating genetic diseases. Our thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends during this difficult time. I also wondered if Hughes was serious about the earth being flat; assuming he was, I thought about the implications of his death when it came. As a part of a stunt, Mike was attached with a homemade rocket which was launched but quickly it was crashed. There is nothing in the world I could have done to prevent Mike from riding a steam rocket to his death, but I didnt have to be there when it happened. . Hughes was officially pronounced dead at 5:34 p.m. An autopsy revealed that he had died of acute coronary thrombosis, brought on by premature hardening of the arteries. [15], A successful launch on March 24, 2018, resulted in his reaching a height of 1,875 feet (572m) and a hard landing in the Mojave Desert. But none of us are getting out of this world alive. Still, others are motivated by money. He stated that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved him to launch his rocket and he is awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Before his death, Mike had lived a married man. This story has been shared 100,258 times. Need to estimate, from trillions of miles away, how likely another world is to host life? He shared a video on Twitter and said Mad Mike Hughes just launched himself in a self-made steam-powered rocket and crash landed. Others have claimed that Hughes was whisked away by authorities to learn from him, and so his death was staged as a cover for Hughes disappearance. He was born in 1955 although there is no information about his exact net worth, date and birthplace is available on the internet but he lived in Barstow, California. 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. The following weekend, the launch was again postponed and Hughes was treated for heat exhaustion. Mikes height and weight hadnt been disclosed publically. He was widely famous due to his self made rocket engineer and limo stuntman and also for his thoughts regarding Flat Earth theory. He was also a flat-Earth conspiracy theorist known for flying self-built rockets. Advertisers pay money to owners of websites that generate enough views to justify the expense. Regardless of what happened, he still built a rocket and he launched a rocket. The Science Channels decision to award coverage to someone known for espousing decidedly unscientific views not to mention allowing him to participate in a wildly dangerous experiment was widely lambasted on social media in the wake of the news of his death. He was an American limo driver and daredevil who gained the limelight for flying in self-built rockets. The homebrew rocket maker had dreams of fame and fortune. Is the US Next? There is a duty of care issue. Just a slender projectile hurtling silently to the ground. Then, on the 30th of January 2014, he was known for making the first manned rocket, which flew 1,374 feet within over one minute over Winkelman, Arizona. 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 . I helped to kill him. Known by his name Mad or Daredevil American stuntman Mad Mike Hughes died at the age of 64. At the time of his passing, Hughes was surrounded by 50 to 60 people watching his attempted rocket launch, including crew members for an upcoming Science Channel series calledHomemade Astronauts. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, the launch of a homemade rocket gone awry, successfully launched himself in a rocket nearly 1,900 feet in the air, Im afraid for her life: Riverside CC womens coach harassed after Title IX suit, Want to solve climate change? Effectively, he was duped by FET (theory and theorists) into recklessly risking his life. Friends and family. Mikes ground control crew radioed him to deploy one of the two backup parachutes installed on the rocket, but Mike never responded. And yet, as I stood among the sagebrush outside Barstow, gazing at the progress of a tiny white speck against the blue sky, I found myself chanting commands to someone who I knew couldnt hear me. Since then, Ive read long, dry obituaries in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. Was it worth it to create the awareness?, Sargent asked, referring to the communitys helping to fund and draw attention to Hughess suicidal efforts. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. I stayed away from the crew as the water pressure rose. The launch, which took place Saturday and was meant for a new Science Channel series called Homemade Astronauts, was supposed to have rocketed Hughes up to 5,000 feet in the air, the TV network said. mike hughes cause of death The plan was to start heating the boiler shortly after dawn Saturday. Released in August 2019, this 94-minute documentary, co-directed by Toby Brusseau and Michael Linn, starred Mike Hughes, Waldo Sykes, Patrick Marchese. But, he had gushed about his birthday publically. Science Channel wrote, "Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes tragically passed away today during an attempt to launch his homemade rocket. "Storm Chasers" stars Matt Hughes has died at the age of 30 after committing suicide. And Ill always regret it. His publicist, Darren Shuster, said Saturday that the flat Earth thing was a PR stunt we dreamed up to get publicity and attract sponsors for the rockets that the self-taught engineer made in his garage at his home in Apple Valley, Calif. A crew member was hurt so badly that part of his leg was later amputated. But who cared if somebody whod christened himself Mad Mike went 2,000 or 4,000 feet high in a homemade rocket that was just as likely to kill him as it was to get off the launch pad? [18], On February 22, 2020, Hughes died near Barstow, California, following the crash of a rocket he was piloting, built by Hughes and his collaborator Waldo Stakes. The parachute? Period.) And in this sense, he was successful: though he says there were some background conversations within the community regarding the question of whether Hughes could crash, all in all Sargent considered the campaign the best $8,000 we ever spent, due to the enormous amount of media attention it garnered for the Flat Earth cause. Mad Mike died at the age of 64. I met Mike through Waldo Stakes. So they started cutting away metal to provide enough clearance. I was fascinated by his plan to repurpose space-age-era NASA and military-surplus components to bring the land speed record back to the US from the UK. 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. I had no attachment to him or his rocket launches. Hughes 2002 feat in Perris, California still holds the world record for longest limousine ramp jump, according to the Guinness World Records website. The ladder was placed there because Mike had used it to get inside the rocket, as he was opposed to the initial plan of beinglifted into it. It will be updated soon. The mayor/owner of Amboy, along with two of the three full-time residents. Hughes defiantly stated that the dispute would not stop him from flying: "I'm a daredevil. There has never been another death on the field. If a manufacturer of cars or any other product knowingly makes things that are defective that ultimately results in severe injury or death, then they are culpable. This, it turned out, was Mike Hughes, who billed himself as the worlds most famous limo driver by virtue of having set a world record for the longest jump in a Lincoln Town Car with the flying qualities of a cinderblock. I didnt care about the steam rocket per se, since it had nothing to do with the space project. You had to shout to be heard over the low-pitched thrum of the generator heating water in the boiler. He thought the lunar landing had been a hoax. Mike Hudges was an American limo driver and daredevil. Death. He seemed to be speaking to himself as much as me. In the 1980s, Hughes worked as a fabricator and body specialist on cars for NASCAR drivers Randy Lajoie and Rob Moroso, and as a crew chief on a Craftsman Truck team in Washington, before moving to Las Vegas in 1994, according to a Las Vegas Sun column. Afterward, he reportedly collapsed and needed several days to recover. And what was the point? Chute! The more outlandish and provocative the content, the more interest, and hence more views. The more views that a site has, the more potential customers see the ads. He raised only $310. As freelance journalist Justin Chapman told NPR, the goal of such expeditions was not so much to prove that the earth was flat, as it was to bring attention to the Flat Earth cause. (A representative for Hughes also confirmed this in a statement to BuzzFeed, saying he did not actually believe in the theory and that we used flat Earth as a PR stunt. 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. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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[8], At the time of his death, Hughes lived in Apple Valley, California. Hughes famously launched himself nearly 1,900 feet upward in a homemade steam-powered rocket early in 2018. And luckily it didnt turn out that way for us that day..
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