Self-taught rocket scientist plans launch to test flat Earth theory

Science is littered with tales of visionaries who paid for pioneering research to prove their theories, and this weekend “Mad” Mike Hughes is hoping to join them. He plans to launch a homemade rocket in California as part of a bid to eventually prove that the Earth is flat.

Hughes has spent $20,000 (£15,000) building the steam-powered rocket in his spare time, and will be livestreaming the launch over the internet. The self-described daredevil says he switched his focus to rockets after twice breaking his back doing stunt jumps in cars.

“I don’t believe in science,” declared the 61-year-old. “I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air. But that’s not science, that’s just a formula.”

The rocket, which Hughes aims to reach an altitude of 1,800ft (550 metres) over California, will be launched from the back of a converted motorhome purchased from Craigslist. It is sponsored by a flat Earth research group, and Hughes plans a subsequent trip to try and observe the flatness of the Earth for himself.

Speaking about the risks of the flight, Hughes said: “It’s scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world alive.”

Hughes’ website describes him as “the only man to design, build and launch himself in a rocket” – he previously flew in his own rocket in 2014, as this footage shows.

Hughes has stated that once he lands at the weekend, he intends to announce that he is running for the governorship of California.

Flat Earth theory has seen a resurgence in recent years, fuelled by online message boards and some high-profile endorsements from celebrities. The Flat Earth Society, founded in 1956 and relaunched online in the 2000s, currently boasts of having over 500 members, although the group has splintered into two separate factions with competing websites.

In the NBA, Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving made headlines for appearing to endorse the idea that the Earth is flat, and former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal surprised everyone in March by declaring the same. “I drive from Florida to California all the time, and it’s flat to me,” he said in a March podcast, before later retracting the claim saying he’d been joking. Irving has also recently distanced himself from the belief.

But Hughes is not alone in his quest to reach the sky to test established science. Rapper BoB has made social media posts supporting the theory in the past, and is currently attempting to raise $1m to place “multiple weather balloons and satellites into space, for experimental exploration”. He has so far only managed to gather nearly $7,000 for the project.