An amateur American astronaut who said he wanted to prove the Earth is flat has been killed in the crash of his homemade rocket in California, said the Science Channel, which filmed the launch.
"Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes tragically passed away today during an attempt to launch his homemade rocket," the channel, which is part of the Discovery Channel, said on Twitter. "Our thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends during this difficult time." A stuntman by profession, Hughes, 64, launched himself Saturday in a steam-powered rocket that he built in the backyard of his home in Barstow, California. Several brands sponsored the project.
His goal, he told the local press, was to ascend more than 1,500 meters (nearly one mile) to prove that the Earth is not round but shaped like a Frisbee. His spokesman Darren Shuster told the Los Angeles Times, however, that the flat Earth claim was merely to drum up publicity for the launch.
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