Blame it on bureaucracy: A California man who planned to launch himself 1,800 feet skyward in a home-built rocket to prove that Earth is flat has had to reschedule.

Mike Hughes said the Bureau of Land Management wouldn’t approve his plan to use public land for Saturday’s planned experiment, so he’ll have to move the project to private land next week, the Washington Post reported.

The 61-year-old limo driver said he had received verval approval from the same federal agency just last year, pending an OK from the federal Aviation Commission, the paper reported.

Hughes added that engine trouble in his motor home, which was converted into a ramp, also affected his original launch plans.