(AP) — LOS ANGELES — He finally went up — just like the self-taught rocket scientist always pledged he would.
He came back down in one piece, too — a little dinged up and his steam-powered vessel a little cracked up.
Still, mission accomplished for a guy more daredevil than engineer, who drew more comparisons to the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote from his critics than he did to iconic stunt man Evel Knievel.
