[mtnman]

How am I the first to mention this? A flat Earth beleiver and self taught rocket maker is launching himself in a homemade rocket this weekend. Says he is expecting to reach 1800 feet of altitude. Don't think there will be much science coming from a flight that low, but he is working his way up to space.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Mad-Mike-Hughes-Rocket-Over-Amboy-458823163.html

[douglips]

At least he doesn't have to worry about smashing into the "firmament" at that altitude.

[StinkyOne]

How am I the first to mention this? A flat Earth beleiver and self taught rocket maker is launching himself in a homemade rocket this weekend. Says he is expecting to reach 1800 feet of altitude. Don't think there will be much science coming from a flight that low, but he is working his way up to space.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Mad-Mike-Hughes-Rocket-Over-Amboy-458823163.html

I saw that, too. I'm guessing he will die before he ever reaches space. 1800 feet is good, but he has a LONG way to go. His steam rocket isn't going to cut it.

[mtnman]

Yes, will need some serious propulsion upgrades. But you have to start somewhere!

[StinkyOne]

Yes, will need some serious propulsion upgrades. But you have to start somewhere!

And hey, steam seems very appropriate for this anti-science lot. Nothing scientific about boiling water. 

I like how he said he is against science and that he is just using formulas. Almost begs the question of how those formulas were derived.

[DuniyaGolHai]

Seems to be a publicity stunt...

BTW any FEer of this forum part of this event?

[TomInAustin]

Yes, will need some serious propulsion upgrades. But you have to start somewhere!

And hey, steam seems very appropriate for this anti-science lot. Nothing scientific about boiling water. 

I like how he said he is against science and that he is just using formulas. Almost begs the question of how those formulas were derived.

"I don't believe in science" is indeed the tell all here.

[Dither]

Best case scenario here is that he survives, apparently he's done it once before.
Will his parachute open automatically if he passes out on the way up?
I hope he has some contingencies organised, apart from funeral insurance.

[mtnman]

Best case scenario here is that he survives, apparently he's done it once before.
Will his parachute open automatically if he passes out on the way up?
I hope he has some contingencies organised, apart from funeral insurance.

No idea, I would assume the parachute is set on a timer rather than manual.

[3DGeek]

He says that his plan is to launch his major "Flat Earth Proving" mission from a balloon.   So he'd float up to god-knows-what height - then fire his steam rocket to get high enough to take a photo of the (Flat?) earth.

If he manages to do that without dying (unlikely) the question will be whether anyone believes his altitude claim.   If he gets his photo much below about 100,000 feet - it'll look flat anyway...so without some fairly impressive proof that he was up at higher altitude - we'd have to say "FAKE".

Of course calling any suspect photos "FAKE" is just a part of the FE playbook - so it's hard to see why this guy would expect round-earthers to be convinced anyway.

[Dither]

If he manages to do that without dying (unlikely)

Johnny nearly died first attempt (rocket blowout) and then he only managed sixty feet.

 

[3DGeek]

If he manages to do that without dying (unlikely)

Johnny nearly died first attempt (rocket blowout) and then he only managed sixty feet.

 

Well, this next flight will be harder - but the one he's supposedly building up to do (launch from a balloon - get high enough to *NOT* see the curvature of the Earth) will be impossible.

Once he's up over 100,000 feet - he won't be able to parachute out.  The world record parachute jump was 135,000 feet - but that guy was wearing a full-on space suit and jumping from a STATIONARY balloon.

He won't be able to wait to jump from a more reasonable altitude because his rocket is pretty streamlined and will very soon be heading downwards at a thousand miles an hour - and parachuting at that speed is suicide.

Honestly - if he really wants to do this - all he has to do ("all"!) is to replicate that world record balloon jump.  Float up to 100,000 feet - take the photograph - then jump/parachute back down again (or maybe just let a little gas out of the balloon and float gently back down...or maybe don't even go up with the balloon - just send a GoPro camera...or maybe just BELIEVE THE FRICKING VIDEOS from dozens of such experiments already done (which clearly show the Earth is round).

The steam-powered rocket is just an unnecessary encumbrance.

Unless, of course this is all just some huge publicity stunt...just maybe!

[mikeyjames]

How am I the first to mention this? A flat Earth beleiver and self taught rocket maker is launching himself in a homemade rocket this weekend. Says he is expecting to reach 1800 feet of altitude. Don't think there will be much science coming from a flight that low, but he is working his way up to space.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Mad-Mike-Hughes-Rocket-Over-Amboy-458823163.html

I can't read French, so maybe your article says the same thing, but an article in the Sydney Morning Herald suggests very strongly that the guy doesn't even really believe in flat earth. He's just using the lunacy to promote the attempt and raise funds from believers. Do flat earthers feel used?

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/a-man-is-about-to-launch-himself-in-his-homemade-rocket-to-prove-the-earth-is-flat-20171122-gzqrgr.html

Hughes only recently converted to flat-Eartherism, after struggling for months to raise funds for his follow-up flight over the Mojave.
It was originally scheduled for early 2016 in a Kickstarter campaign - "From Garage to Outer Space!" - that mentioned nothing about illuminati astronauts, and was themed after a NASCAR event.

"We want to do this and basically thumb our noses at all these billionaires trying to do this," Hughes said, standing in his Apple Valley, California, living room, which he had plastered with drawings of his rockets.

"They have not put a man in space yet," Hughes said. "There are 20 different space agencies here in America, and I'm the last person that's put a man in a rocket and launched it."
 
He compared himself to Evel Knievel, as he promised to launch himself from a California racetrack - the first step on his steam-powered leap toward space.

The Kickstarter [link in article] raised $US310 of its $US150,000 goal.

Hughes made other pitches, including a plan to fly over Texas in a "SkyLimo." But he complained to Ars Technica last year about the difficulty of funding his dreams on a chauffeur's meager salary.

A year later, he called into a flat-earth community web show to announce he had become a recent convert.

"We were kind of looking for a new sponsors for this. And I'm a believer in the flat Earth," Hughes said. "I researched it for several months."

The host sounded impressed. Hughes had actually flown in a rocket, he noted, whereas astronauts were merely paid actors performing in front of a CGI globe.

"John Glenn and Neil Armstrong are Freemasons," Hughes agreed. "Once you understand that, you understand the roots of the deception."

The host talked of "Elon Musk's fake reality," and Hughes talked of "anti-Christ, Illuminati stuff." After half an hour of this, the host told his 300-some listeners to back Hughes' exploration of space.

[3241]

No a very smart man - all you need is a tank of helium a big balloon and a camera - you guys should have hundreds of pictures of the flat earth if its true - Where are they? Why haven,t any of you done this?? Its the easy way to prove your theory - do it and show us the evidence. Unfortunately you will not see a flat earth.   

[3241]

What about up north - the land of the midnight sun - I live and was born near the north pole above the arctic circle- I have seen it with my own eyes - you can take a quick trip and look yourself. How can you explain no sun on the December 21 once again I have seen this with my own eyes.

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Around the summer solstice (approximately 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere and 22 December in the Southern Hemisphere), the sun is visible for the full 24 hours.

Buy you will say I must be part of the conspiracy because I saw it with my own eyes. I will see it again this year as i always do - ask any Inuit and we will tell you its true.

[juner]

Yes, will need some serious propulsion upgrades. But you have to start somewhere!

And hey, steam seems very appropriate for this anti-science lot. Nothing scientific about boiling water. 

I like how he said he is against science and that he is just using formulas. Almost begs the question of how those formulas were derived.

Do you have any actual point to make other than just thinking your sarcasm is funny? You're on multiple warnings and a previous ban. I'll give a warning here, but next time is a week. If you have nothing to contribute or add, then refrain from posting in the upper fora.

[mtnman]

Another set back for the FE rocket launch project. Permit problems and the launcher/RV had mechanical issues. Sounds like just a postponement though which is understandable. It took NASA lots of tries to get into space for the first time also.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/11/25/mad-mike-hughes-cancels-rocket-launch-prove-earth-flat/894762001/

[Roger G]

The link to the video where he supposedly reached 1800ft shows absolutely nothing apart from a shot from a rocket going up and coming down on a tattered parachute. Nowhere is there any evidence that Mike was actually in it. Looks to me that the earlier one that he clung on to the outside of for a few feet was a clever attempt to show he was serious and raise some cash from gullible people. That is born out by him gate crashing an FE show as a sudden convert  For all the shouts of fake from this forum about NASA videos, this Mike Hughes video doesn't show he was ever in it FAKE!!

Roger

[John Quinton]

im afraid that this true frontiersman will perish before he comes back to earth to share the truth. the government will try to shoot him down to prevent him from exposing the truth about the flat earth

[Roger G]

Which government are you referring to? The US government doesn't seem to be interested in shooting down rockets from other countries e.g. North Korea!!! Perhaps they are in collaboration with the US government. I assume you are aware that there are other space programmes outside of US control.

Roger