[Bus Insider] A man who believes the Earth is flat launched himself almost 2,000 feet into the air in a homemade rocket over the weekend."Mad" Mike Hughes, 61, ascended 1,875 feet in his crowdfunded rocket on Saturday before crashing back to Earth in the Mojave Desert outside Amboy, California.
"I'm tired of people saying I chickened out and didn't build a rocket ‐ I'm tired of that stuff," Hughes told The Associated Press after landing. "I manned up and did it."
Apart from a sore back and dinged-up rocket, Hughes told the AP he was fine. Hughes has generated controversy over his scientifically unsupported belief that the Earth is flat and shaped "like a Frisbee," as he describes it.
In a video posted on his Facebook page, he said his goal for the launch was to see the Earth's shape.
"Do I believe the Earth is shaped like a Frisbee? I believe it is," Hughes said. "Do I know for sure? No. That's why I want to go up in space."
Hughes' rocket hit estimated speeds of 350 mph before he pulled his parachute. He had to deploy a second parachute to keep from hitting the ground too hard.
"This thing wants to kill you 10 different ways," Hughes told the AP of his rocket.