This Saturday (Feb. 22), a daredevil amateur rocket-maker will try once again to blast himself off-Earth as part of "Homemade Astronauts," a new series on the Science Channel that follows self-financed, self-made teams on their quest to reach the sky.
Saturday, "Mad" Mike Hughes, with the help of his partner Waldo Stakes, will try (after a couple of close-call attempts) to reach 5,000 feet (1.5 km) in the air while riding his steam-powered rocket.
Hughes and Stakes make up one of three teams that are working to get as close to space (or the Karman line, the invisible "line" 62 miles (99.78 km) above Earth's surface that is often thought of as the beginning of space) as possible on "Homemade Astronauts."
Related: 'Mad' Mike's Steam Rocket Grounded by Craigslist Water Heater
One of the other two teams is led by Ky Michaelson, described by the Science Channel as the "real-life 'Rocketman,'" is the first civilian to ever build and launch a crewless rocket to space. He hopes to become the first civilian to both build and successfully launch a crewed craft to space.
The third team is led by Cameron Smith, who is creating his own spacesuit. He will be testing the suit on the show by riding in the suit on a cluster of hydrogen filled weather balloons to the Armstrong line (which is an altitude of 62,000 feet (18.89 km).
The series is being produced by World of Wonder. It is currently in production and will premiere some time in 2020.
- Flat-Earther to Launch Himself in Homemade Steam Rocket Saturday
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- 'Mad' Flat-Earther to Launch Himself 5,000 Feet Up
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