![]() He landed with a thud and the rocket’s nose broke in two places like it was designed to do. Hughes was dropping too fast, though, and he had to deploy a second one. Hughes reached a speed that Stakes estimated to be around 350 mph before pulling his parachute. PDT, and without a countdown, Hughes’ rocket soared into the sky. “I told Mike we could try to keep charging it up and get it hotter,” said Waldo Stakes, who’s been helping Hughes with his endeavor. Ideally, they wanted it at 350 psi for maximum thrust, but it was dropping to 340. It looked like Saturday might be another in a string of cancellations, given that the wind was blowing and his rocket was losing steam. For months he’s been working on overhauling his rocket in his garage. The 61-year-old limo driver converted a mobile home into a ramp and modified it to launch from a vertical angle so he wouldn’t fall back to the ground on public land. He told The Associated Press that outside of an aching back he’s fine after the launch near Amboy, California.įILE – In this March 6, 2018, file photo, “Mad” Mike Hughes begins work on repairing a steam leak after he scrubbed his launch attempt of his steam-powered rocket near Amboy, Calif. ![]() ![]() “Mad” Mike Hughes, the rocket man who believes the Earth is flat, propelled himself about 1,875 feet into the air Saturday before a hard landing in the Mojave Desert. Coyote from his critics than he did to iconic stunt man Evel Knievel. Still, mission accomplished for a guy more daredevil than engineer, who drew more comparisons to the cartoon character Wile E. The self-taught rocket scientist who believes the Earth is flat propelled himself about 1,875 feet into the air before a hard-landing in the Mojave Desert that left him injured. Hughes tells The Associated Press that he injured his back but is otherwise fine after Saturday’s launch. “Mad” Mike Hughes is carried on a stretcher after his home-made rocket launched and returned to the ground near Amboy, Calif., on Saturday, March 24, 2018. ![]() He came back down in one piece, too - a little dinged up and his steam-powered vessel a little cracked up. LOS ANGELES (AP) - He finally went up - just like the self-taught rocket scientist always pledged he would. ( Click here, if you are unable to view this video on your mobile device.)īy PAT GRAHAM and MICHAEL BALSAMO | Associated Press ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |