An amateur American astronaut who said he wanted to prove the Earth is flat has been killed in the crash of his homemade rocket in California, said the Science Channel, which filmed the launch.
据美国科学频道报道，美国一业余宇航员在加利福尼亚乘坐自制火箭坠毁身亡。他曾说想要证明地球是平的。美国科学频道拍摄了他升空的视频。
"Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes tragically passed away today during an attempt to launch his homemade rocket," the channel, which is part of the Discovery Channel, said on Twitter.
美国科学频道隶属探索频道，该频道在推特上说：“迈克尔·‘狂人麦克’·休斯今天在尝试发射自制火箭时不幸去世。”
"Our thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends during this difficult time."
“在这一令人悲痛的时刻，我们要向他的家人和朋友表达我们的哀悼和祈祷。”

A stuntman by profession, Hughes, 64, launched himself Saturday in a steam-powered rocket that he built in the backyard of his home in Barstow, California. Several brands sponsored the project.
64岁的休斯是一名职业特技演员，周六乘坐蒸汽火箭升空。火箭是他在加州巴斯托家中的后院自制的。这一项目获得了几个品牌的赞助。
His goal, he told the local press, was to ascend more than 1,500 meters (nearly one mile) to prove that the Earth is not round but shaped like a Frisbee.
他对当地媒体说，他的目标是要升到1,500多米（近1英里）的空中，证明地球不是圆的，而是像一个飞盘。
His spokesman Darren Shuster told the Los Angeles Times, however, that the flat Earth claim was merely to drum up publicity for the launch.
但他的发言人Darren Shuster对《洛杉矶时报》说，“地球是平的”的言论仅仅是为这次发射做宣传的。
"I don't think he believed it," Shuster said. "He did have some governmental conspiracy theories. But don't confuse it with that flat Earth thing. That was a PR stunt we dreamed up."
Shuster说：“我觉得他不是这样想的，他的确有政府阴谋论的想法，但不要把它和‘地球是平的’的说法混为一谈。那只是我们想出来的公关噱头。”
Images of the launch, carried out in the desert in front of a crowd of horrified witnesses, circulated on social media.
火箭是在沙漠发射升空的，事故目击者都惊恐万分，社交媒体上疯传火箭发射视频。
A parachute can be seen tearing away from the rocket moments after the launch, as the spacecraft loops downward and crashes several hundred meters from the launch site near Barstow, 110 miles (180 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles.
发射后火箭盘旋而下，降落伞与火箭分离，火箭坠毁在距发射地点几百米远的地方，在巴斯托附近，位于洛杉矶东北部110英里（180千米）。
"It was always his dream to do this launch & Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey," said the channel, which filmed the launch for a new series called Homemade Astronauts.
美国科学频道为新系列片《私房宇航员》拍摄该火箭升空视频，说：“这次发射一直是他的梦想，科学频道在现场记录他的旅程。”
Dressed in a red-and-black space suit and posing in front of the rocket, Hughes had announced plans for the launch on the Discovery Channel.
休斯穿着红黑相间的航天服，在火箭前摆好姿势，在探索频道上宣布他的发射计划。
Explaining why he would do it, he said, "Just to convince people that they can do things extraordinary with their lives... Maybe it will inspire someone else."
在解释他这样做的原因时，他说：“只是为了说服人们他们能用生命做出非凡之举，这也许能激励到别人。”