Well, it's been a long old journey, but flat-Earther 'Mad' Mike Hughes has finally managed to blast off into space using the steam-powered contraption he put together in his garage.
Sixty-one-year old Mike hit headlines in November last year. He announced to the world he was planning to fly a self-made rocket ship, which he had spent several years building, into the sky so he could look down and prove that the Earth is flat once and for all.
However, his attempts to prove once and for all that the Earth is flat were hit with a series of setbacks - his first got failed when it was revealed that he didn't have the proper permission to carry out such an expedition, then his 'motorhome-slash rocket-launcher' broke down.
That wasn't the end of Hughes' bad luck, either, in February, his rearranged blast-off also failed, when his lauch-pad refused to work. Hughes sat inside the 'spaceship' for 11 minutes before accepting that his launch-pad was goosed, getting out and calling the whole thing off. Sad times but probably best for his own safety.
And so to today, where the self-taught rocket scientist finally managed to propel himself 1,875ft (571m) into the sky above the Mojave Desert, before opening his parachute and landing back on Earth with a bit of a bump.
He looked a bit dazed but mostly unharmed following his adventure and was lifted from his seat to be checked over by medics. His rocket took a bit of a beating, though.
Speaking to the Associated Press, he said: "Am I glad I did it? Yeah. I guess.
"I'll feel it in the morning. I won't be able to get out of bed. At least I can go home and have dinner and see my cats tonight."
Hughes has spent around $20,000 (£14,000) on his mission to prove the Earth is flat.
He said: "I'm tired of people saying I chickened out and didn't build a rocket. I'm tired of that stuff. I manned up and did it." You certainly did, pal.
Speaking about the dangers of such an expedition, he said: "This thing wants to kill you 10 different ways ... This thing will kill you in a heartbeat."
What insight Hughes actually managed to gain while on the 'mission' is yet to be revealed, but he did say: "My story really is incredible.
"It's got a bunch of storylines - the garage-built thing. I'm an older guy. It's out in the middle of nowhere, plus the Flat Earth. The problem is it brings out all the nuts also, people questioning everything. It's the downside of all this."
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Source: The Times
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: flat earth, News, Interesting, US News, Weird