BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA — Self-proclaimed daredevil "Mad Mike" Hughes is sadly no longer around after he crashed in his homemade rocket shortly after take off near Barstow on Saturday. <br />Hughes was well-known for his belief in a non-round Earth, and was hoping to prove it by launching himself up into space. <br />According to a Space.com, Hughes had planned to shoot himself up into the sky for a Science Channel series called "Homemade Astronauts." <br />According to Discovery—which owns The Science Channel—the series is supposed to follow people looking to "explore the final frontier on limited budgets." <br /><br />Discovery's website said Hughes and Waldo Stakes built the steam-powered rocket with the intent of getting Hughes 5,000 feet into the air. <br />Video posted to social media shows the rocket flying up and a parachute ripping off at launch. <br />According to witnesses talking to the LA Times, the rocket went straight up in an arc and then came straight down. None of Mike's backup parachutes worked either.<br />According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the crash off highway 247 in Barstow on Saturday afternoon. A sheriff's aviation unit is now investigating the incident.
