Daredevil "Mad" Mike Hughes died Saturday when a homemade rocket he was attached to launched but quickly dove to earth in the California desert.
The stunt was apparently part of a forthcoming television show, "Homemade Astronauts," that was scheduled to debut later this year on Discovery Inc.'s Science Channel.
Discovery confirmed the 64-year-old's death in a statement.
"It was always his dream to do this launch, and Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey," the company said.
Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.
The mishap was reported at 1:52 p.m. on private property in the Barstow area, San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said by email. She did not identify Hughes.
"A man was pronounced deceased after the rocket crashed in the open desert during a rocket launch event," she said.
Sheriff's aviation investigators were looking into the accident.
In a statement last year, Discovery, Inc. described the forthcoming show as a look at "three self-financed teams with sky-high dreams, in their cosmic quest to explore the final frontier on shoe-string budgets."
Hughes' stunt Saturday was billed as part of a plan to raise money for another project, a planned launch to the border of space on a vehicle described as part rocket, part balloon, Discovery said.
The money-raising launch had a goal of reaching 5,000 feet into the sky aboard a "steam-powered rocket," the broadcaster said.
Hughes is known both for his homemade rockets and for his belief the earth is flat.
His desire to prove the planet is "shaped like a Frisbee" inspired his vertical endeavors, he has said. But Saturday's launch did not appear to be directly tied to Hughes' flat-earth argument.
In 2018, he successfully launched himself about 1,875 feet into the sky above the Mojave desert via a garage-made rocket.
His landing that year was softened when he deployed a parachute. In social media video of Saturday's accident, a parachute-like swath of fabric can be seen flying away from the rocket shortly after blast-off.
"This thing wants to kill you 10 different ways," Hughes said in 2018. "This thing will kill you in a heartbeat."
Linda Takahashi contributed.
"TV" - Google News
February 23, 2020 at 12:10PM
https://ift.tt/2vWgG59
Daredevil 'Mad' Mike Hughes dies in homemade rocket launch - NBC News
"TV" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2T73uUP
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Daredevil 'Mad' Mike Hughes dies in homemade rocket launch - NBC News"
Post a Comment