Self-taught rocket scientist “Mad” Mike Hughes won’t allow a little red tape to get in the way of his green light for a launch.
All systems are go for his rescheduled steam-powered rocket attempt — in his view, at least.
The 61-year-old limo driver who believes Earth is flat plans to climb into his homemade vessel on Monday and rocket 1 mile over the ghost town of Amboy, Calif. He was scheduled to blast off last weekend, but he didn’t have the proper permits from the Bureau of Land Management.
He’s relocated his launch pad about 4 miles from its original spot so he takes off and lands on private property.
It may not be enough. The BLM said he still needs to fill out the permits. Hughes contends that shouldn’t be required since he’s flying on private land and has permission.
“I’m moving forward,” Hughes said on Tuesday. “I’m a daredevil. I’m not much for authority or rules.”
In the meantime, he keeps readying his rocket in the Mojave Desert and sleeping in a motor home that doubles as his rocket launcher. He still can’t quite wrap his mind around how his project has generated so much buzz. He’s been contacted by news outlets from all over the globe.
“This is all just nuts, but I guess it’s supposed to be,” said Hughes, who will televise the launch on his YouTube channel and doesn’t want spectators to show up out of safety concerns. “I’ve had people say so much, that I’m a fraud. I’ve had people email me and say, ‘You’re going to die.’ I even had one woman ask me if we were all going to die on (launch day). But I’ve also had so much support. It’s just crazy.”
His original intention was this: Set up his rocket that’s built out of salvage parts and launch on an air strip next to a dilapidated hangar. He said a verbal agreement he received from the BLM a year ago fell through at the last moment.