SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology team has placed first in the design phase of SpaceX's Hyperloop competition [bbc.com]. 115 teams submitted designs, and 22 teams will be able to test their designs on a 1.5 km test track during the summer:

Designs for passenger pods that could travel through airless tubes have been revealed by a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Hyperloop is a conceptual transport system in which passenger pods could be fired through vacuum tubes at more than 600mph (1,000km/h). The MIT team came first in a SpaceX competition to design pods that could be tested in a prototype tube. The team will now have the opportunity to build and test its design in the US.

Elon Musk - the entrepreneur behind companies such as Paypal, SpaceX, and Tesla Motors - announced his vision for a Hyperloop transport system in August 2013. Although SpaceX is not developing its own commercial Hyperloop, the company says it wants to "accelerate development" of the idea and is building a mile-long test track in California. The winning entries in the company's design competition will now have the opportunity to test them in full-scale tubes over the summer.

Popular Science [popsci.com], Space.com [space.com].

Previously: SpaceX will hold a Hyperloop Pod Competition in 2016 [soylentnews.org]
Three Tracks Planned to Test 'Hyperloop' Transportation Idea [soylentnews.org]

Original Submission