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Man to launch himself in homemade rocket to prove Earth is flat (not the Onion)
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- danblick 9y agoWould it not be easier to launch a camera of some kind? Or are cameras in on the conspiracy somehow?
- oblib 9y agoHmmm.... Perhaps those closest to him agreed to not tell him that was an option.
- sorahn 9y ago"the glass is curved" No, I'm not joking.
- eh78ssxv2f 9y agoBut the retina is curved too, so I am not sure there is even a way to convince flat-earthers?
- imglorp 9y agoBut not on the ground.
- wmeredith 9y agoYou’re going to need to take a step back and examine the situation before you apply any more of that reason.
- tom_mellior 9y agoIt would also be easier to use a hot air balloon than a home-made rocket, but that wouldn't get you in the Washington Post, I guess.
- dalbasal 9y agoThere are buildings that go higher than 1,800 feet^. There are many kinds of vehicles that could complete this mission, with some available for charter at very affordable rates. This is all part of why this project is fantastic. It's nonsensical in an exciting way. I really hope he launches (and doesn't die). Hell, I hope he proves the earth is flat. ^ He does plan to go higher in future missions, just to be fair. This is not passive flat earthism. He's starting a flat earth space program, not being trapped on a disc forever.
- tom_mellior 9y ago> He does plan to go higher in future missions, just to be fair. True. He may have to go a lot higher, in fact. The Flat Earth Society's FAQ claim that you would have to go higher than commercial airliners "to get even a hint of curvature if earth were round": https://wiki.tfes.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions#As_a_passenger_on_an_aircraft.2C_how_is_it_I_can_see_the_curvature_of_the_earth.3F https://wiki.tfes.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions#As_a_passen...
- oblib 9y agoI have never had the urge to launch myself in a homemade rocket and would strongly recommend others not succumb to it if they get one, but I'm afraid it's too late for this fellow. I do wonder if he'll tell his fellow flat earthers he saw the curve in the surface though. And also how much he'll be charging for tickets to watch him launch.
- zaarn 9y agoI played enough Kerbal Space Program to be confident in my ability to navigate a rocket to the moon. I'm also confident I would create a red smear on the launch pad for the first 30 tries then suffocate in space or smear the moon for the next 30.
- asdgkknio 9y agoI wonder if he actually believes it's flat. It sounds to me like he might be just trying to get funding. These kinds of stunts are obviously his passion, but he repeatedly had trouble funding them. It's very convenient that his conversion just happened to get him the funding he spent years looking for. Playing the fool to fund his dream would be a clever marketing trick. I have no evidence that he's not sincere, but I'm not convinced either. Setting aside the flat Earth craziness, "amateur astronaut" is about the most badass hobby on the planet.
- cirgue 9y agoClaiming that you believe the earth is flat is definitly not the weirdest lie that's ever been told in pursuit of funding.
- wallace_f 9y agoWhat would that be? Anyways if you read the story, it's extremely suspicious how he suddenly became interested in the flat earth conspiracy in a request for funding. And if you wanted to prove the earth was flat a balloon, gopro-on-a-rocket, daylight hours, or just some big sticks with a buddy at a different latitude would be easier.
- netsharc 9y agoI would say "A fool and his money are soon parted. We are here to help." is a valid business model...
- baddox 9y agoOn the contrary, the flat earthers claim that all of those things can easily be done to prove that they’re correct. And/or they dispute the common arguments that appeal to results from those experiments.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- cyberjunkie 9y agoWhat if he falls flat on his face, thus proving the Earth is indeed flat?
- King-Aaron 9y agoI have my doubts that his orbiter has the delta-V to make it into orbit. He needs more boosters and far more struts.
- ramblerman 9y agowhy not just pick a direction and start travelling. How does this theory even work, do they have notions of where (they believe) the edges are?
- tom_mellior 9y agoIf I understand correctly, the "standard" theory is that the edges are walls of ice in Antarctica. Rather than the ocean surrounding Antarctica, it is Antarctica that surrounds the ocean that surrounds all the rest of the land. As for what is beyond the walls of ice... That's for another rocket to find out.
- carreau 9y agoWe all know that beyond the wall of ice is the Night King and the army of the dead.
- imglorp 9y agoYup, walls of ice, that's it. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Orlando-Ferguson-flat-earth-map_edit.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Orlando-...
- cosin 9y agoSo... if you climb over, you get to space? That would be so awesome
- 9y ago
- dalbasal 9y agoThis should (A) be thought of as an art project and (B) should be no. 1 on HN right now. It’s hard to know what to make of flat earth rocketeers, but my instinctive response is “this world is kind of awesome”. First (like another poster said perfectly), “amateur astronaut” is a badass pursuit. 2nd is the possibility that there is a person who (A) can and will build a rocketship and (B) can’t think of a better way to confirm that the earth is flat. I kind of want to believe this. This (and maybe most flat earth stuff) is multi-layered. Maybe (most likely) this is just a good PR narrative for this guy’s rocket project. Didn’t RKA/NASA have semi-bogus scientific goals to justify pure engineering challenges? I think a lot of flat earth stuff is trolls, jokes, devils advocacy, cyber-age epistemology. If I let my self get ridiculously carried away, I’d say there are some parts of flat earth world that rhyme with weird (but at the time important) parts of the enlightenment. I’m thinking des cartes, maybe Kant, probably others too. In my own narrative, these eventually culminated in moderate, but very useful philosophy like that of Karl Popper.
- shakna 9y agoI find it hard to encourage this kind of pursuit, when he seems to have difficulty with the danger aspects of this pursuit. Last time he launched, he had difficulty deploying his chute and nearly died.
- bastawhiz 9y agoHe's only going up to 1800 feet, it sounds like. It seems like a flight on a jet would be cheaper and more effective.
- imglorp 9y agoOr a cessna flight to 12000? Or hang a go-pro from a balloon like scores of kids on the internet.
- jdlyga 9y agoThis man is obviously compromised by the government and not a true flat earth believer (sarcasm)
- rurban 9y agoThat's a really brave man. He will most likely hit his head on the blue heaven and loose consciousness up when hitting the top. Maybe he will even hit a cloud. I hope he is prepared with a parachute.
- hug0 9y agoThe best thing about this is that earth's curvature can be seen on his video on his website. Aghhh! http://madmikehughes.com/ http://madmikehughes.com/