Daredevil dies during homemade rocket launch
California: A US daredevil pilot has been killed during an attempted launch of a homemade rocket in the Californian desert.
“Mad” Mike Hughes, 64, crash-landed his steampowered rocket shortly after take-off near Barstow on Saturday.
A video on social media shows a rocket being fired into the sky before plummeting to the ground nearby.
Hughes was well-known for his belief that the Earth was flat. He hoped to prove his theory by
going to space.
Saturday’s launch was reportedly filmed as part
of Homemade Astronauts, a new TV series about amateur rocket makers to be aired on the US Science Channel. The project had to be carried out on a tight budget.
With the help of his partner Waldo Stakes, Hughes was trying to reach an altitude of 5,000ft (1,525m) while riding his steampowered rocket, according to Space.com. In the video of the launch, a parachute can be seen trailing behind the rocket, apparently deployed too early, seconds after take-off.
In a tweet, the Science Channel said Hughes had died pursuing his dream.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said its officers were called to a rocket launch event at around 22:00 GMT on Saturday.
The sheriff’s office said “a man was pronounced deceased after the rocket crashed in the open desert”. Hughes’ publicist confirmed to US media outlets that it was the pilot who had been killed.
Darren Shuster, a former representative for Hughes, told TMZ the daredevil was “one-of-a-kind”.