A supporter of "flat Earth" will launch a rocket on Saturday

Recently, there are more and more admirers of the "flat Earth" theory, which is fiercely defended by both schoolchildren, who skipped lessons, and seemingly quite serious people. Some of them even build small rockets with their own hands. That is the kind of Mike Hughes from the USA. Mike is 61 years old, he is a limousine driver, and his hobby is the theory of a flat Earth.



At the same time, Mike is not at all an uneducated student, he is well acquainted with the laws of physics, is engaged in electronics and even builds rockets himself. It would seem that the construction of rockets, even small ones, is an occupation incompatible with the very theory. But no, Mike managed to unite what, at first glance, is impossible to unite. He built a rocket in order to prove that the Earth is flat.



Now Hughes is preparing another rocket for testing. This is the second copy. The first was created in 2014, then the first flight took place. Rockets are designed to fly several kilometers to test a particular system. Creating a rocket is expensive, so Hughes found a sponsor. They became the organization Research Flat Earth. Now the name of this organization is indicated on each aircraft launched by the “rocket builder”.



At the moment, the project has already spent about $ 20,000. This is a very sensitive amount for a person who makes a living by driving a limousine.



His ultimate goal - the creation of a rocket that can send a man into space. Hughes plans to go into space himself in order to take pictures and shoot everything. Why doesn't he want to send a regular camera with automatic shooting mode to space? It is not clear.



He says he does not believe in science: “I know a lot about aerodynamics and the physics of liquids, I know how to move through the air, I know certain things about rockets and thrust. But this is not science, it is just a formula. There is no difference between science and science fiction. ”



In 2004, he climbed to a height of 400 meters with his rocket. Thanks to the braking system created by him, the “cosmonaut” managed to descend to Earth without damage. Because of the acceleration during takeoff, his health suffered and it took three days to recover. Hughes also talks about steam-powered rockets, although it is unclear whether he intends to build such a rocket to be sent into space and how he imagines something similar.



It is not clear what kind of fuel will be used to start on Saturday. There is information that it will be the water that will be heated in a metal tank and then steam will be released, in the literal sense of the word. The height that Hughes hopes to climb is about one and a half kilometers. Back he will descend on two parachutes. "Astronaut" says that he is very scared, but he will not give up on his undertaking.



The first rocket supporter of the flat Earth was developing in his own garage. Creation of the second is carried out in the hangar of Land Speed ​​Research Vehicles. The head of this company was interested in the fact that the rocket is being built by just one person, so he decided to rent out the hangar and help in building the aircraft. By the way, Land Speed ​​Research Vehicles is developing a car that can drive at a speed of 3200 kilometers per hour.





In order to save money, Hughes uses scrap materials. It does not work with what is commonly used to create a real rocket. All this is purchased in the usual shops of industrial goods.



The rocket launch will be conducted from the site in the ghost town of Emba, located in the Mojave Desert. Hughes received permission from the current owner of the city, who bought the rights to own property in 2005 for $ 435,000.



By the way, drawing public attention to his "jump", Hughes hopes to accomplish another task - to get votes in the elections for governors of California.



After the Saturday launch, the self-taught inventor plans to create a rocket that can climb not 100 km, but 100 kilometers. That is, the height to which Virgin and Blue Origin space tourists are planning to lift. But this later, but first - a jump per kilometer on a steam-powered rocket and the election of the governor of California.