Hyperloop One, the ambitious project to commercialize vacuum-sealed pod-in-tubes transportation as a way to whisk passengers long distances at near-supersonic speeds, said Wednesday it set a new speed record during its first test of a passenger pod at its Nevada desert test track.
The Hyperloop One XP-1 pod accelerated for 300 meters to a full speed of 192 miles per hour during the July 29 test. It glided above the 500-meter DevLoop track using magnetic levitation before braking and coming to a stop, the organization said.
The company said it depressurized its Nevada test tube to the equivalent of air at 200,000 feet above sea level to reduce drag for the test. That's similar to conditions in Earth's mesosphere, the third of four atmospheric layers, at the edge of space.
The test did not involve any human passengers.
"This is the beginning, and the dawn of a new era of transportation," said Shervin Pishevar, executive chairman and co-founder of Hyperloop One. "We've reached historic speeds of 310 km an hour, and we're excited to finally show the world the XP-1 going into the Hyperloop One tube. When you hear the sound of the Hyperloop One, you hear the sound of the future."
The capsule's top speed of 192 mph outperformed its earlier mark of 69 mph in the first phase of testing. It also went more than four times farther and saw 3.5 times more power delivered to the pod (3,151 horsepower compared with 891 hp the first time).
"We've proven that our technology works, and we're now ready to enter into discussions with partners, customers and governments around the world about the full commercialization of our Hyperloop technology," Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd said. "We're excited about the prospects and the reception we've received from governments around the world to help solve their mass transportation and infrastructure challenges."
Hyperloop One aims to build a commercial hyperloop between Dubai and Abu Dhabi that would transport people in 12 minutes.
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk first came up with the idea of hyperloop travel, but he has no business relationship with Hyperloop One. He is working on his own hyperloop project, and on Twitter, he announced last month that he had received "verbal govt approval" to build a Hyperloop route connecting New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. That course would be built underground, using Musk's other side project, The Boring Company.
Musk's SpaceX recently hosted a competition to build and test hyperloop pods in a test track at the company's California headquarters.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, a competitor to Hyperloop One, said earlier this year it has been developing a full-size capsule at nearly 100 feet in length and plans a reveal in early 2018.
The Hyperloop One XP-1 pod accelerated for 300 meters to a full speed of 192 miles per hour during the July 29 test. It glided above the 500-meter DevLoop track using magnetic levitation before braking and coming to a stop, the organization said.
The company said it depressurized its Nevada test tube to the equivalent of air at 200,000 feet above sea level to reduce drag for the test. That's similar to conditions in Earth's mesosphere, the third of four atmospheric layers, at the edge of space.
The test did not involve any human passengers.
"This is the beginning, and the dawn of a new era of transportation," said Shervin Pishevar, executive chairman and co-founder of Hyperloop One. "We've reached historic speeds of 310 km an hour, and we're excited to finally show the world the XP-1 going into the Hyperloop One tube. When you hear the sound of the Hyperloop One, you hear the sound of the future."
The capsule's top speed of 192 mph outperformed its earlier mark of 69 mph in the first phase of testing. It also went more than four times farther and saw 3.5 times more power delivered to the pod (3,151 horsepower compared with 891 hp the first time).
"We've proven that our technology works, and we're now ready to enter into discussions with partners, customers and governments around the world about the full commercialization of our Hyperloop technology," Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd said. "We're excited about the prospects and the reception we've received from governments around the world to help solve their mass transportation and infrastructure challenges."
Hyperloop One aims to build a commercial hyperloop between Dubai and Abu Dhabi that would transport people in 12 minutes.
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk first came up with the idea of hyperloop travel, but he has no business relationship with Hyperloop One. He is working on his own hyperloop project, and on Twitter, he announced last month that he had received "verbal govt approval" to build a Hyperloop route connecting New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. That course would be built underground, using Musk's other side project, The Boring Company.
Musk's SpaceX recently hosted a competition to build and test hyperloop pods in a test track at the company's California headquarters.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, a competitor to Hyperloop One, said earlier this year it has been developing a full-size capsule at nearly 100 feet in length and plans a reveal in early 2018.
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