Back in 2013, tech industry leader Elon Musk, known for founding Tesla Motors and SpaceX, released a concept for a revolutionary form of transportation called the Hyperloop. Theoretically, Hyperloop works by using electric proprietary propulsion and magnetic levitation to accelerate vehicle pods through a network of weather resistant low-pressure tubes to achieve speeds of around 1080 km/h (670 mph).
By creating this new form of transportation, it is said that it would significantly cut travel times, be environmentally friendly due to its smaller civil engineering footprint, be energy efficient with no direct emissions or noise, and cost less to operate than the traditional High-speed rail.
Acting as the catalyst, Elon Musk has open-sourced his idea of Hyperloop. Publishing the Hyperloop Alpha white paper, his ambitious vision for Hyperloop immediately began to gain traction as it took its first steps towards the initial phases of testing. A privately-held company called Hyperloop One, led by CEO, Rob Lloyd; Chief Technology Officer, Josh Giegel; and Chief Financial Officer, Axel Martinez, began the development of Hyperloop One by designing and building a Levitation Rig to test speeds necessary to simulate Hyperloops levitation systems for use on test vehicles. Capable of achieving pressures down to 1/1000 of atmospheric pressure, the rotor was also able to achieve surface speeds of up to 300 metres per second.
The Blade Runner, the first of its kind, was then built to test scaled axial compressor blades and aerodynamic structures. Powered by two 2,000 CFM vacuum pumps, long-duration tests were conducted while adjusting flow variables in speeds ranging from subsonic through supersonic regimes.
Establishing a test site in the desert outside of North Las Vegas, Nevada, the Hyperloop One team proceeded to conduct a Propulsion System Open Air test where a Hyperloop sled was accelerated to 218 km/h (136 mph) in 2.2 seconds then broke into a sandbank. This validated the design of the motor and power electronics system.
With all the required components tested and ready, a full-scale Hyperloop test track is built Apex, Nevada.
In what the Hyperloop One team would describe as the equivalent to the Wright Brothers’ first flight over the dunes near Kitty Hawk, N.C, the successful full-scale test of the controlled propulsion and levitation of a Hyperloop One test vehicle was achieved in the early morning of May 12th, 2017. The momentous moment that the Hyperloop One Team had tirelessly been working for years has finally been written in history.
With further testing gradually improving the full-scale Hyperloop One, a sleek new first-generation Hyperloop One aeroshell was revealed. The aeroshell is set to be used to test aerodynamics and structural materials.
Hyperloop One has announced it would build the first commercial hyperloop transportation system from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where they have promised that the distance of 159.4 km (99 m) between the two cities can be travelled in a mere 12 minutes.
Predicted to revolutionize and fundamentally change how we travel and ship cargo, one can only imagine how Hyperloop will affect our lives.
To learn more about Hyperloop One, click the link below.
