‘Mad Mike’ Hughes Dies in Rocket Crash, And Our Last Interview With Him

64-year-old "Mad Mike" Hughes died Saturday when his homemade steam powered rocket crashed just outside Barstow, CA.

Mike's project has been ongoing for about almost half a decade, with small beginnings of jumping the rocket for distance. His ultimate goal was to make it to space and prove the earth was flat.

We talked with Mike about two years ago, the week after the first test of his rocket, when he reached heights of about 1800 ft. At the time, his overall cost was at about $20,000, and that included the motor home he converted into a ramp.

A crew from the Science Channel was present for the crash to shoot an episode of a show called "Homemade Astronauts."

As the rocket takes off, you can see what appears to be his parachute stays behind. After a chute fails to deploy, the rocket hurdles back toward the ground in a nose dive, where it ultimately crashes.

Rest in Peace, Mad Mike.