Launch News Flat Earther "Mad" Mike Hughes dies in crash of homemade rocket

[Trekkie]

I heard/read that his targeted altitude was 1.500 meters...doesn't sound like a lot.

He got to see the Curvature of the Trees that's for sure xD


but in all seriousness we all could have seen this one coming.. sadly but true..

 

[DaveS]

I heard/read that his targeted altitude was 1.500 meters...doesn't sound like a lot.

That's even below the maximum altitude used for the shuttle ferry flights (15k feet or 4,572 m). It would have been easier and cheaper just buying a ticket on a regular commercial flight as they fly much higher than that.

 

[Frilock]

That's even below the maximum altitude used for the shuttle ferry flights (15k feet or 4,572 m). It would have been easier and cheaper just buying a ticket on a regular commercial flight as they fly much higher than that.

Thats part of the conspiracy theory though. They claim the airliner windows are made to give the appearance of curvature.



That being said, having done some research on the guy, these flights weren't about proving the earth flat. They were about raising money to build bigger rockets that would. In other words, nothing more than a publicity stunt.

 

[Marijn]

People throughout history have always understood very well why the mast of a sailing ship dissapears last below the horizon. You don't need to gain any altitude to conclude earth is a sphere.

 

[Artlav]

People throughout history have always understood very well why the mast of a sailing ship dissapears last below the horizon.

Try reading Inhabited Island by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. It's set on a planet where the atmosphere is refractive enough to make the ships appear to rise up into the air, so the natives thought the world was a cavity in the endless solid. Also, it's a great book and a classic on this side of the old iron curtain.

Point is, it does not take a lot of imagination to conjure up "explanations" to dismiss facts.

 

[steph]

Well, 5000 feet. Lower than many mountain tops. The real sad thing is people turning this into a show despite knowing the risks he faced.

They generally use pseudo-science to explain the rest. Refraction for objects hidden by the curve (as well as denying they are hidden at all etc), using high altitude videos to 'prove' there is no curve (and if any curve shows, it's the lens) etc. All kinds of logical ruptures in thinking.

Some flat earthers do put their money where their mouth is. Like these guys, who spent big $$ on a laser gyroscope (a normal one wouldn't do because reasons), just to detect rotation over and over again.