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According to early reports the Hyperloop's initial tests (open air tests) were a success at their test track in North Las Vegas. Image.
It didn't go far but it did work. A metal sled accelerated from zero to 116 mph in 1.1 seconds, or about 2.4 Gs of force. It traveled little more than 100 meters, then stopped, kicking up a cloud of sand in the process.
The Verge has a couple articles Here, before the test and test pictures here.
Pencilled in for Q4 2016, however, is what the company is describing as its "Kitty Hawk" moment - a reference to the Wright Brother's first flight - where it plans to run a full-scale test track. Expected to be more than two miles of low-pressure tube, the pod inside should run at over 700 mph if all goes as planned.
Even if the system scales as Hyperloop One expects it to, human passengers may not be welcome, at least initially. The company is looking to cargo transportation as the most likely use for a commercial Hyperloop system - presumably because boxes and crates are less fragile than families - with interest already from a number of countries in a potential logistics system that would run through tubes and underground tunnels.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday May 12 2016, @10:00AM
Here and now, future doesn't exist yet, eh?
What about a mature technology, tested on/with humans (and paid by greedy investors hunting unicorns, which recover their money from other more greedy/gullible ones), which enables SpaceX to build a mix of smaller StarTram [wikipedia.org] and single stage rocket at the end?
Some years ago, nobody thought of recovering the booster to reduce launching cost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by frojack on Thursday May 12 2016, @06:05PM
Greedy Investors!
Those bastages! How dare those 1%-ers spend their ill gotten fortune polluting our pure ideas!!!
We must put an end to this project right away. As well as driverless cars, electric vehicles, solor power, wind farms, and every other new thing. Why: because greedy investors.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.