After months of delay, controversial flat-Earther Mike Hughes finally blasted himself off a homemade rocket to prove his theory that the Earth is flat.
The 61-year old researcher and steam rocket scientist complained of a bruised and aching back after the liftoff that took him off the ground for four minutes.
Apart from that, he survived. He said that he is glad that he did it and he would do it again to prove his lifelong theory that the Earth is shaped like a flat Frisbee.
"Do I believe the Earth is shaped like a Frisbee? I believe it is," he said. "Do I know for sure? No. That's why I want to go up in space."
Bigger And Larger Rockets
During the liftoff at a remote desert in California on March 24, Hughes was able to reach a height of almost 2,000 feet before pulling his chute.
Hughes was not satisfied with what he saw from above and will come up with a bigger rocket that will launch him into space. He wants to see for himself and prove that the Earth is flat like he thinks.
He added that he wants to build a "rockoon." Unlike his Flat Earth Research rocket, a rockoon is bigger and will be carried into the upper atmosphere by a gas-filled balloon.
A rockoon will take him 68 miles above the Earth's surface and from there, he could separate from the rocket and launch into space.
"I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust, but that's not science, that's just a formula," Hughes said in an interview.
The self-taught rocket scientist maintained that there's no difference between science and science fiction. Despite many scientific discoveries and proof that the Earth is not flat, Hughes said he still does not believe in science.
"I don't believe in science," he asserted.
Hughes, who shuns science, said he seriously wants to run for governor of California. A video documentary about Hughes is due for release in August.
Flat Earth World
Hughes is among the few hundred advocates of the Flat Earth Society, a group whose members believe that the planet's surface is flat because it looks and feels flat.
Flat Earthers reject all pieces of evidence of a spherical Earth and regards NASA satellite photos of the planet from outer space to be photoshopped and fabrications of a round Earth conspiracy theory by the U.S. space agency and other government agencies.
The leading flat-Earth theory is that the Earth is a disc. The Arctic circle is in the center and Antarctica is around the rim composed of a 150-foot-tall wall of ice.
Among the personalities who believe that the Earth is flat includes rapper-singer Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. Simmons previously engaged in a Twitter word war with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Earth's real shape.
