So it was possible to indulge in some magical thinking and imagine that maybe, against all odds, Mike might be able to emerge from the cockpit reasonably unscathed. But I also wanted to keep my distance emotionally, as if that would inoculate me from blame if everything went south. Mike was born in the Hughes family and possessed a white ethnical background. 'Mad' Mike Hughes' fatal rocket crash caught on video By Daniel Cassady February 23, 2020 4:05pm Updated Video posted online shows the exact moment "Mad" Mike Hughes' homemade rocket came. Mike would have been just as dead if hed been killed trying to fly to space. In the days leading up to the fatal crash, Discovery.com posted a video of Hughes showing off the rocket in his front yard. He seemed to be speaking to himself as much as me. A self-taught engineer tinged with genius, Waldo had designed motorcycles that set speed records at Utahs Bonneville Salt Flats. [23], Following Hughes' death, Darren Shuster, his public relations representative, stated: "We used flat Earth as a PR stunt Flat Earth allowed us to get so much publicity that we kept going! Later analysis of the wreckage would show that the launch apparatus Mike had put together caused the left side of the nozzle to rip free from the rocket when the water was released. The canopies shredded. Following the sudden announcement that the forecaster had died on Wednesday night's episode of the Discovery. 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. Two armed but unopened parachutes were still attached to the rocket when it came down. Flat Earth Community Undeterred by Death of Mad Mike Hughes, Violated, Confused, and Incredibly Disrespected: Another Woman Accuses Andrew Callaghan of Sexual Misconduct, Andrew Callaghan, Popular Host of All Gas No Brakes and Channel 5, Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Mormon Church Sent Patients to Sex Therapist Even After One Accused Him of Abuse. We want to hear it. This is particularly true of those in the flat-earth movement who arent serious about the earth being flat. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It took me two years to figure out how this works. People ask me why I do stuff like this, he said. The launch was initially scheduled for last August but was moved several times due to technical difficulties. However, he holds the American nationality and white ethnical background. The sun was unrelenting, with temperatures often exceeding 110 degrees. Social media platforms like YouTube have also been criticized for serving as a platform for those espousing Flat Earth views, a criticism that last year it addressed by tweaking its algorithm to prevent from recommending such content to users. Flat Earth-assisted crowdfunding campaigns. But, on the 24th of March 2018, he was successful in reaching the height of 1,875 feet and had a hard landing in the Mojave desert. Did you find any mistake? Last spring, Waldo called to tell me hed hatched a crazily ambitious plan: He wanted to send Mike into space. 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. 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. Hughes, 64, had been a. A freelance journalist named Justin Chapman and his wife witnessed this crash. And they planned to do it with a spacecraft built at El Ranchito Rakete. So Waldo invited Mike to live on property he owned on the southern edge of the Mojave in Apple ValleyWaldo had whimsically dubbed it El Ranchito Raketeand it was there that work commenced on a new-and-improved launch vehicle. Turns out that a pair of auxiliary chutes had blown off the rocket as it left the launch rail. Assorted flat-Earthers and conspiracy theorists. For me, Flat Earth is bigger than my friends and family and even my own life. He died following his rocket crash-landing in the open desert in California on 22 February 2020. After Mikes death, Science Channel mourn with condolence by saying, Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mike Hughes family and friends during this difficult time. 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. But it occurred to me that if Hughes were to die in a launch, those promoting the flat-earth movement would have at least some blood on their hands. Daredevil, Is Killed in Rocket Crash", "NEWS: 'Flat Earth' Daredevil Dies in Homemade Rocket Stunt", "Death Valley Girls Share Video for "(One Less Thing) Before I Die", "Death Valley Girls - "(One Less Thing) Before I Die" Video", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Hughes_(daredevil)&oldid=1134002496, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 14:50. Hughes claimed to have achieved nearly 1,400 feet altitude in a similar craft in 2014, though there are some doubts about that flight. Certainly Hughes was a daredevil who knew the risks of these rocket launches, and regardless of his incentives, tragically paid the ultimate price for his celebrity. The 1:53 min long video was directed by Kansas Bowling and featured footage of his "Flat Earth" rocket launch in Apple Valley. Released in August 2019, this 94-minute documentary, co-directed by Toby Brusseau and Michael Linn, starred Mike Hughes, Waldo Sykes, Patrick Marchese. Mad Mike died at the age of 64. In a press release shared by The Hollywood Reporter, Mike Hughes and Waldo Stakes are working on a manned rocket to space, designing what they call a rock-oon part rocket, part balloon that they hope to use to get Hughes to the Karman line, the border between Earths atmosphere and outer space, which is about 62 miles high. Everybody lingered near the launch pad in a surreal state of shock and confusion. They didnt, naturally. CHUTE! Likewise Mike Hughes' tragic death. A launch date was set for late February. Video posted online shows the exact moment Mad Mike Hughes homemade rocket came crashing down to Earth after a failed launch attempt, killing the self-styled daredevil. However, he hadnt shared any further information regarding his marriage and who is his wife. 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. [3] 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. On Saturday, February 22, Mike Hughes, aka "Mad" Mike Hughes, died in the crash of his homemade rocket. In the end, he was too brave and tenacious for his own good. Periodically, Waldo would call me with updates. 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. 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. Effectively, he was duped by FET (theory and theorists) into recklessly risking his life. A tire blew out. However, a BLM spokesman said its local field office had no record of speaking to Hughes at the time. But Mike wanted to fly higher, faster, farther. [11] Hughes moved his launch pad 4 miles (6km) so that he could take off and land on private property, but the BLM maintained he still needed to fill out permits. Thats the way daredevils die.. 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? The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesfrom culture to business, science to design. Hughes acknowledged there were risks, telling the Associated Press: "It's scary as hell. And when it comes down to it, he deserves kudos for that.. What happened during 9/11. He further added that rockets are mostly self built through trial and error and you dont get a lot of second chances, though, in the rocket business. He was likable, funny, and surprisingly boyish for somebody who was nearly 64. Waldo speculates that the violence of the shift knocked Mike unconscious. Your newsletter signup did not work out. He had a lot of time to surf YouTube and he went down the YouTube rabbit hole and developed some weird beliefs., In 2018, Hughes successfully launched himself in a rocket nearly 1,900 feet in the air and landed in the Mojave Desert near Amboy, Calif., a feat captured on camera for Rocketman., When we were filming it, we were thinking to ourselves, Wow, this is dangerous, Brusseau said. World of Wonder Productionsthe television company behind RuPauls Drag Raceevidently reached a similar conclusion and signed Mike and Waldo to a Science Channel reality show tentatively titled Homemade Astronauts. Mikes height and weight hadnt been disclosed publically. The National Library of Medicine describes Hughes' cause of death as a "rare congenital abnormality" that represents less than 3% of coronary anomalies. Despite the utter lack of evidence surrounding the Flat Earth theory and intense criticism from scientists like Neil deGrasse Tyson, the Flat Earth theory has gained traction in recent years (one 2018 poll found that two percent of more than 10,000 respondents harbored such views), and has been promoted by such high-profile figures as Kyrie Irving and musician B.o.B. 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. Dramatic video footage of the botched stunt posted on social media appears to indicate that there was a problem with his parachute. 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? If hed succeeded, the flight would have been a scene in my story and a segment in the reality-TV show. Nobody could find the pylons for the guy wires supporting the launch rail. Others were more somber, stating that his passing was proof of the dangers of believing wholeheartedly in dangerous anti-scientific beliefs. Thats why me and Waldo didnt get too involved in helping him build it.. So they started cutting away metal to provide enough clearance. Despite my misgivings, I was intrigued. He blamed permission difficulties for rescheduling his launch. Advertisers pay money to owners of websites that generate enough views to justify the expense. Waldo cajoled me into writing a brief, lighthearted story about the episode. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. The Crispr Baby Scientist Is Back. 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