There 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.
> 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_passen...
I 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.
I 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.
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.
On 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.
If 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.
This 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.
That'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.
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[ 0.21 ms ] story [ 71.2 ms ] threadPerhaps those closest to him agreed to not tell him that was an option.
No, I'm not joking.
^ 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.
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_passen...
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.
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.
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.
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.
As for what is beyond the walls of ice... That's for another rocket to find out.
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.
Last time he launched, he had difficulty deploying his chute and nearly died.
http://madmikehughes.com/