# Flat-Earther builds a rocket **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427 "2017-11-22T18:00:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/101 "2020-02-23T18:54:54Z")
I do want to give a shout out to the cameraman. While the rocket never really went that far, tracking objects in flight with a camera isn’t that easy. This guy did a good job. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/102 "2020-02-23T19:11:24Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t understand the mission at all. His goal was to build a rocket that would get to 40,000 feet to prove the earth was round? He could have chartered a private jet to 50,000 feet and saved a lot of time and money and taken his flat earth investors with him. He wanted to ‘prove’ Earth is flat, like a pancake. But, yeah… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/103 "2020-02-23T19:24:49Z")
He could have clicked on the [NASA ISS feed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEIk7gwjgIM) and saved himself a lot of time and money while seeing the earth from 420-430 km up, and still be alive. True, the earth looks distinctly round from that altitude, but he could have blamed it on fish-eye lens distortion. I can vouch for him from my days of sailing the Great Lakes. The water was clearly flat. We could no longer see most of the high points of shorelines when more than about 10 miles away, but I blame air pollution, or bad eyesight. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/104 "2020-02-23T19:42:06Z")
[Not flat. We checked.](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-v4eyu8t/images/stencil/1024x1024/products/3058/7039/Not_Flat_Pin__38822.1568914037.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/105 "2020-02-23T19:54:07Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t understand the mission at all. His goal was to build a rocket that would get to 40,000 feet to prove the earth was round? I think his ultimate aim was to get to about 65 miles up or somewhere around there, by launching from a balloon. This rocket was just a step in that direction. And his object was to prove the world flat by taking a picture of the whole thing at once. To get that high, he could have waited until Blue Origin starts taking paying customers and bought a ticket on that. BO hasn’t published any pricing, but it’s likely it’d still be cheaper than doing it himself. Also, much safer. But I suppose not as much fun. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/106 "2020-02-23T20:02:05Z")
Darwin claims another one. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/107 "2020-02-23T20:23:45Z")
[The LA Times story](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-22/daredevil-mad-mike-hughes-killed-in-stunt) suggests that Mad Mike may have been knocked unconscious from the jolt of launching, as his rocket did have backup chutes, which did not deploy. Also from the story, _(Darren Shuster, his public relations representative), who did not attend Saturday’s launch, said the flat Earth argument helped drum up publicity and sponsors for Hughes, who made his rockets at his home in Apple Valley. “I don’t think he believed it,” Shuster said. “He did have some governmental conspiracy theories. But don’t confuse it with that flat Earth thing. That was a PR stunt we dreamed up.”_ following several musicians, who have explored death as a career move. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/108 "2020-02-23T21:04:39Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > [The LA Times story](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-22/daredevil-mad-mike-hughes-killed-in-stunt) suggests that Mad Mike may have been knocked unconscious from the jolt of launching, as his rocket did have backup chutes, which did not deploy. Also from the story, > _(Darren Shuster, his public relations representative), who did not attend Saturday’s launch, said the flat Earth argument helped drum up publicity and sponsors for Hughes, who made his rockets at his home in Apple Valley. “I don’t think he believed it,” Shuster said. “He did have some governmental conspiracy theories. But don’t confuse it with that flat Earth thing. That was a PR stunt we dreamed up.”_ > > following several musicians, who have explored death as a career move. I was going to suggest he really didn’t believe it and found some folks who would sponsor his hobby of building and flying rockets. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/109 "2020-02-23T21:27:28Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I was going to suggest he really didn’t believe it and found some folks who would sponsor his hobby of building and flying rockets. (Shrug) You go to bed with morons, you wake up with dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/110 "2020-02-23T21:31:46Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > The fact that a flat earther had a show on the ‘Science Channel’ makes me question their commitment to actual science. They started slowly transitioning to the Science Fiction Channel at least five years ago, when they added [woo](https://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/what-on-earth/). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/111 "2020-02-24T01:12:12Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > He could have clicked on the [NASA ISS feed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEIk7gwjgIM) and saved himself a lot of time and money while seeing the earth from 420-430 km up, and still be alive. [They](https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/16/us/flat-earth-conference-conspiracy-theories-scli-intl/index.html) think that NASA is at the heart of the conspiracy, and wouldn’t ever believe anything from it. > [@](#): > > It helps that the group has a mutual target. “Most of our ire is pointed towards NASA. That’s our bread and butter,” Sargent says of the agency flat Earthers believe is ultimately behind the conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/112 "2020-02-24T01:26:41Z")
Any estimate on the gees he was pulling on the launch? I wonder if any of the footage from the external and helmet cams that must have been there survived? If it was recorded strai ht to MicroSD I bet it did. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/113 "2020-02-24T01:32:47Z")
Well, when I saw the news this afternoon, I must admit my first thought was “Can I be the first to mention it on that Dope thread?” Forthwith, anyway, my contributions to the snark: > [@jtur88](#): > > I’m missing the obligatory line “There were no witnesses”. Did he sneak off and do this with no audience of well-wishers? Or did they all creep quietly away to establish their alibis, so as not to be accessories? [This article](https://news.yahoo.com/daredevil-dies-homemade-rocket-crashes-desert-while-filming-070149253--abc-news-topstories.html) mentions several witnesses: Justin Chapman (the cameraman), his wife, and Waldo Stakes a colleague (collaborator?) > [@](#): > > Justin Chapman, a freelance journalist, told the Associated Press that he and his wife witnessed the crash and that the rocket appeared to rub against the launch apparatus which might have torn the parachutes attached to it. > > . . . > > “It was unsuccessful, and he passed away,” Waldo Stakes, a colleague who was also at the rocket launch, told AP. > [@Alessan](#): > > I think we should invent an award even higher than the Darwin Award. Darwin Laureate, maybe? I vote for Darwin Emeritus, or Flat Earther Emeritus. Or Demeritus. > [@Colibri](#): > > Memorably, “Uh oh” were the last words of Dick Scobee, commander of the Space Shuttle Challenger. (Really.) [History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce — Karl Marx.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eighteenth_Brumaire_of_Louis_Napoleon) > [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t understand the mission at all. His goal was to build a rocket that would get to 40,000 feet to prove the earth was round? He could have chartered a private jet to 50,000 feet and saved a lot of time and money and taken his flat earth investors with him. Well, his goal was to prove the earth was flat. But anyway — your logic is sadly impeccable. Mad Mike’s logic, perhaps was this: A view from 50,000 feet from a chartered jet, where he could see with his own lying eyes that the earth is round, would prove nothing. (Because evidence, even your own lying eyes, proves nothing, amirite?) Therefore, a flight to 40,000 feet would prove the earth is flat, but only if it really is, or even if it isn’t. (Got it?) That’s peccable logic. BTW: The articles I’ve seen don’t say how high he actually got. (Does anyone have an article that says?) But apparently not even 5000 feet, as that was the stated goal here. Well golly, even I’ve flown higher than that, in an aircraft that wasn’t even so much as steam powered ([photo](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581f5f9129687f6b1d73b1e8/1496984846271-XC0QAGEILL4YRA6RNTE7/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kDHPSfPanjkWqhH6pl6g5ph7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z4YTzHvnKhyp6Da-NYroOW3ZGjoBKy3azqku80C789l0mwONMR1ELp49Lyc52iWr5dNb1QJw9casjKdtTg1_-y4jz4ptJBmI9gQmbjSQnNGng/image-asset.jpeg)). (No, that’s not a humble brag. And yes, one of the people in that photo is me.) We launched at 6000 feet and climbed to 16,500 feet MSL over Lake Tahoe. The earth is … spectacular.) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/114 "2020-02-24T01:58:36Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I do want to give a shout out to the cameraman. While the rocket never really went that far, tracking objects in flight with a camera isn’t that easy. This guy did a good job. TV cameramen track golf balls that are invisible at launch. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/115 "2020-02-24T02:20:24Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I vote for Darwin Emeritus, or Flat Earther Emeritus. Or Demeritus. Well really all Darwin Award winners are Darwin Emeritus, since their distinguished accomplishments by definition caused them to be permanently and fairly instantaneously retired from their chosen activity. In a case like this we need a Darwin Award with Special Honors for Great Performance, the latter justified by the exceptional stupidity of the mission and the spectacular nature of the honoree’s demise. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/116 "2020-02-24T02:36:19Z")
I don’t share the glee here. This wasn’t some hateful political figure, and it seems he wasn’t really a flat-earther either, just a quirky guy who wasn’t satisfied sitting at home on the couch. Obviously he knew what the risks were but it’s still terribly sad that he died in front of his friends and family. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/117 "2020-02-24T02:36:51Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > BTW: The articles I’ve seen don’t say how high he actually got. (Does anyone have an article that says?) But apparently not even 5000 feet, as that was the stated goal here. [here is the full video](https://youtu.be/hSRgXeieR3k). Launch occurs at :10, litho-braking at :29. My back-of-the-shirt-tail math suggests possibly as much as 2900’. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/118 "2020-02-24T02:42:20Z")
```auto ``` > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Any estimate on the gees he was pulling on the launch? Gees? I’m wondering how many Ohs he pulled, as in Uh-oh! Ohhhh shit! Ohshitohshitohsit! Oh shit, you mean G-forces. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/119 "2020-02-24T03:02:28Z")
A chute deployed at launch, which had to have been a malfunction. Was that his safety landing chute? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/120 "2020-02-24T03:11:51Z")
Seems likely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427.md?page=7)