I'm impressed! Guess I'll have to accept that the Eathr is flat...

On 25 Mar 2018 16:37:51 -0700, Miloch
wrote:

more at
https://gizmodo.com/at-long-last-fla...o-b-1824059035

Self-declared Flat Earth researcher and DIY steam rocket enthusiast “Mad” Mike
Hughes has finally managed to prove the haters wrong about his ability to blast
himself some 1,875 feet into the sky without being crushed or scalded to death,
the Associated Press reported on Sunday.

After the failure of two previous attempts to launch his steam-powered rocket
with “RESEARCH FLAT EARTH” emblazoned on the side—first due to meddling
government bureaucrats and then due to unspecified technical problems—Hughes
finally managed to take off on Saturday from the Mojave Desert ghost town of
Amboy, California. Video of the launch posted by AP freelancer Matt Hartman
captured the moment the rocket took off, which seemed to take onlookers by
surprise, including a nearby group of boys who appeared to be idly throwing
rocks into a bigger pile of rocks.

After the Bureau of Land Management nixed his first attempt for a flight path
that would have taken him over public land, Hughes modified his rocket to use an
improvised vertical launch platform. Per the AP, helper Waldo Stakes said that
they were only able to get the steam rocket to 340 psi instead of the planned
350 psi, but went ahead with the launch anyway because Hughes wanted to avoid
yet another failed attempt and dispel rumors he wasn’t actually on board a
previous rocket he managed to launch in 2014. Stakes estimated the speed at 350
mph.

Hughes told the AP that outside of an aching back, he was fine and felt
“relieved” the rocket launch was over.

“I’m tired of people saying I chickened out and didn’t build a rocket,” he
added. “I’m tired of that stuff. I manned up and did it ... This thing wants to
kill you 10 different ways. This thing will kill you in a heartbeat.”

“Am I glad I did it?” Hughes concluded. “Yeah. I guess. I’ll feel it in the
morning. I won’t be able to get out of bed. At least I can go home and have
dinner and see my cats tonight.”

Whatever calculations Hughes, who does not “believe in science,” performed are
not a matter of public record. But the 350 mph estimate, accurate or not, is
definitely fast enough to secure bragging rights.





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