Inside Virgin Hyperloop's huge test tube in the middle of the Nevada desert where pods will 'travel 670 miles an hour'
TUBE travel at supersonic speeds is about to become a reality.
"The way we think about where we live, where we work, the way we think about distances will be very different," Virgin Hyperloop's director of test engineering, Samer Hamade said.
LA TO LV in 40 MINUTES
"You look at the choices you have traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I can either drive my car, and I know it's going to take me anywhere between four to seven hours … or I can just hop on a hyperloop and be there in 40 minutes.
“The choice becomes very apparent.”
Hamade was explaining the futuristic vision of convenience that went into manifesting the Virgin Hyperloop in an interview with CNET.
PROTOTYPE
The company backed by Sir Richard Branson is attempting to optimize transportation by sending high-tech pods whooshing at 670MPH through airless tubes.
The 70-year-old made history in July by declaring the "the dawn of a new space age" after successfully reaching space in his Virgin Galactic rocket plane before safely returning to earth.
Virgin constructed its 550-yard long "Devloop" prototype tube just outside Las Vegas in the desert.
Its brain trust stood on the shoulders of Tesla, SpaceX and The Boring Company leader Elon Musk, CNET reported.
ELON'S HYPERLOOP ALPHA
Back in 2013, Musk envisioned the Hyperloop Alpha, where pods would mimic postal pneumatic tubes and tunnel travel in flashing speeds to get to cities in the same state or even achieve transatlantic commutes.
“Short of figuring out real teleportation, which would of course be awesome (someone please do this), the only option for super-fast travel is to build a tube over or under the ground that contains a special environment,” Musk wrote.
“At one extreme of the potential solutions is some enlarged version of the old pneumatic tubes used to send mail and packages within and between buildings.
“You could, in principle, use very powerful fans to push air at high speed through a tube and propel people-sized pods all the way from LA to San Francisco.”
VIRGIN'S SECRET INGREDIENT
Virgin's concept relies on pods using a proprietary maglev (or "magnetic levitation") system to power and help navigate the pods through the tubes, according to CNET.
The publication describes how sleekly designed and crafted (with pink neon-lit accents) – as well as functional the prototype is.
There’s a massive door that seals.
Pumps that lower the tube, a gate valve future passengers would board with a seal to preserve air.
The metal tracks are described as smooth and silent.
DUBAI, INDIA ON BOARD
Virgin has already inked partnerships in India and Dubai. But stateside, President Joe Biden has carved out some of his $1trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal to include hyperloop technology.
It still needs to pass in the House.
“Hyperloop’s inclusion shows that we’re on the precipice of a new era that will change the way we think about mobility in this country.
“I hope the House of Representatives will expeditiously pass this legislation so that these additional avenues for investment in hyperloop’s successful deployment in the U.S can become law,” Virgin Hyperloop CEO and Co-Founder Josh Giegel said in a statement.
Another company known as HyperloopTT, which boasts funding from blockchain technologies, has been developing hyperloop travel since 2013.
It confirmed that it plans to pursue federal funding to create “the world’s most advanced hyperloop project” in the Great Lakes if the law gets passed.
Hyperloop’s inclusion in the bill is a landmark moment for the industry as it solidifies the technology into federal law,” according to an August release.
“Since our founding in 2013, HyperloopTT has worked across administrations to demonstrate key technical features and educate lawmakers on the transformative benefits of hyperloop travel.
“Now, as the bill progresses towards becoming law, the future of hyperloop travel in the United States is secured.”
The infrastructure bill is currently awaiting a final vote in the Senate.
But moderate members of its own Democratic majority ranks, like Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, appear to remain on the fence and need convincing, Reuters reported.
Each has raised concerns about the size and scope of the programs.
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