Elon Musk announced in a recent tweet that the next Hyperloop Pod test will aim to reach half the speed of sound. Achieving such a goal could mean a significant step in high-speed travel not only for SpaceX.
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The upcoming test should be really exciting, as it involves reaching a speed of 617,5 km/h (383,7 mph) on a stretch of approximately 1.2 km. Despite all the risks that the test should entail, Musk did not forgive himself in a tweet for a short joke about tearing the Pod to pieces, but at least in an exciting way.
This is kinda nutty for such a short distanceance, so could easily end up being shredded metal, but exciting either way
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 8, 2018
In an Instagram post last year, Musk noted that SpaceX decided to find out how fast the Pod could move without the help of another device. Some time ago, the Pod was capable of reaching a speed of 354 km/h (220 mph). Therefore, reaching half the speed of sound would be a remarkable achievement for SpaceX.
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The upcoming test of the upgraded Hyperloop Pod is likely to appear with the arrival of this year's student Hyperloop Competition 2018. It will take place on July 22 and will pit a number of student teams from around the world against each other. The task of the teams is simple, it will consist in overcoming the highest possible speed.
In the last competition, the WARR Hyperloop group, a team from the Technical University of Munich, managed to win. Last year, the students relied on a lightweight chassis that was powered by a 50 kW electric motor connected to polyurethane wheels. During the competition, the Munich students' Pod reached 325 km/h (202 mph), knocking out its best competitors - Paradigm Hyperloop and SwissLoop.
WARR Hyperloop is definitely going to defend its title at this year's competition as well. According to the group's official website, this year's WARR Hyperloop will be made up of 45 members from 16 different countries. Also in the plan is a completely new Pod, with which they will fight for victory with their opponents.
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You can watch a clip from last year's competition in the non-watchable video.
Elon Musk promises great success from this year's competition of talented students. We will inform you about the upcoming competition, as well as news from the SpaceX and Tesla environment.
Source: teslarati
compared to the price and the fact that even "classic" trains on rails or maglevs can handle this, so it's not much.