Hyperloop One successfully completes its first full system test

New York, 12 July 2017: Hyperloop One successfully completed its first full system test in a vacuum environment on 12 May 2017 at the company’s test track “DevLoop” in the Nevada Desert. The vehicle coasted above the first portion of the track for 5.3 seconds using magnetic levitation and reached nearly 2Gs of acceleration, while achieving the Phase 1 target speed of 70mph. The company is now entering the next campaign of testing, which will target speeds of 250 mph.

This is the first full scale Hyperloop system to undergo a test of all components, including motor, vehicle suspension, magnetic levitation, electromagnetic braking, vacuum pumping system and more; so that they operate as a single integrated unit in a vacuum. Nearly 200 engineers, fabricators and welders were involved in testing for the first time in over 100 years, an entirely new mode of transportation.

In addition to the test, Hyperloop One also unveiled the prototype of its Pod that will work within the integrated system. Using electromagnetic propulsion and magnetic levitation, the Pod will transport passengers and cargo inside the tube. Hyperloop One’s Pod is the only vehicle in the world that achieves autonomous high-speed propulsion and levitation in a controlled low-pressure environment. The 28 feet shell is made of structural aluminium and a lightweight carbon fibre.

Hyperloop One will continue to run tests in the coming months to validate its next-generation components and software, and the next phase of testing will showcase the Pod gliding along a longer track at faster speeds.

When it becomes a reality, Hyperloop One will move people and things faster than ever, in a cleaner, safer and efficient environment. Transportation between cities will feel as if each city is a metro stop, and that will impact the way people choose to live and work out of different places with convenience.