A man in California has come up with quite a method to prove Earth is flat (it's not),
and he may just kill himself trying to do so.
Mike Hughes, a 61-year-old homebrew rocket "scientist," has decided to construct
his very own steam-powered rocket to propel him thousands of miles about the earth so
he can snap a photo to prove to his fellow members of the group Research Flat Earth.
No, this isn't a joke.
Fox News reports that Hughes plans to launch himself to the sky on Saturday in what looks
like an old steampunk decoration with a fancy paint job.
Hughes estimates his rocket will travel at some 500 mph and travel well over a mile into
the sky, and he admits to being terrified of doing so.
"If you're not scared to death, you're an idiot," Hughes said.
"It's scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world alive.
I like to do extraordinary things that no one else can do, and no one in the history
of mankind has designed, built and launched himself in his own rocket."
In all, Hughes spent around $20,000 to build his homemade rocket, which includes the price
of the motor home he purchased to convert into a launch ramp.
He said the majority of the parts for the contraption came from scrap metal in his garage,
which helped keep cost low.
The reason Hughes is turning himself into a literal rocket man is because he says he
doesn't believe in science, despite having to use science to build his own rocket.
"I don't believe in science," Hughes said.
"I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about
the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust.
But that's not science, that's just a formula."
"There's no difference between science and science fiction," added Hughes.
However, he did acknowledge in June that he has much to learn about rockets in general.
"This whole tech thing, I'm really behind the eight ball," he said.
This is not the first time Hughes will strap himself to a homemade rocket and blast off
like Iron Man.
In 2014, he built and then flew a rocket a quarter of a mile in Arizona, but the launch
ended up leaving him injured.
So Saturday's launch being more than four times as far as the previous poses a new set
of challenges for Hughes, not only because of the distance, but because the former rocket
was based on round-earth technology.
As for his funding, Hughes said he's always looking for new people to sponsor his endeavors.
"We were kind of looking for new sponsors for this.
And I'm a believer in the flat Earth," Hughes said.
"I researched it for several months."
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