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During the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod 2019 competition, the student team of the German University TU Munich reached a top speed of 463 km / h on its prototype, on a test track of 1.2 km (0.75 km). mile).
The contest was launched in 2015 by SpaceX at its headquarters in Hawthorne, California, where teams of students and non-students are invited to participate in a competition in which the prototypes of hyper- loops are performed in a vacuum tube and measured for their speed and safety. Although the length of the specimen has only been 1.2 km in recent years, the 2020 competition should include a 10 km tube, which would allow more elaborate tests.
The Munich team won the competition this year, although the basket collapsed shortly after breaking the speed record, but not until it was able to finish the event. However, the team confirmed that the basket did not explode, but lost "some parts" along the way.
"The most important impact occurred when one of the screws that holds the ground rail hit one of our brakes, tearing down." With this, the pressurized brake instantly lost all pressure, which made it look like an explosion, "said the official. team on Twitter. "The pod did not explode. One of the propulsion modules most likely derailed due to greater misalignment of the rail segments. As the nacelle was therefore too low, some of the other modules were deformed due to abnormal loads and one of the engines broke down. "
This futuristic transportation solution was first conceived in 2012 by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as he sought an alternative to the California high-speed rail system (CAHSR), still under construction, that he found it untenable. for the expenses incurred. The idea behind Hyperloop's operation is simple: a transport module is designed to move at high speed in a vacuum tube, while being powered by linear induction motors and axial compressors. The vacuum in the tube helps the pods move without friction or air resistance, which makes the system fast and energy efficient.
The interest in the hyperloop has grown exponentially over the years, with many startups creating hyperloop projects around the world. Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies are among the most startups of these startups.
Nevertheless, the hyperloop is not devoid of detractors. Although the hyperloop looks promising on paper with a theoretically possible speed of 1,200 km / h (760 mph), the maximum recorded speeds of pods to date only represent a fraction of that. And this event aside, driving hundreds of kilometers an hour in a closed vacuum tube can seem frightening to potential pbadengers, because an abnormal accident would result in almost certain death.
Although Musk's initial idea was to consider a system that could be cost-effective compared to CAHSR, there are more established transport systems in the world that are relatively cost-effective and can also evolve at a high speed. The maglev trains in China and Japan are one example. These trains use magnetic levitation to eliminate friction between the wheels and the rail, allowing them to travel at a maximum speed of 600 km / h (373 mph) over long distances.
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