What if you could travel on the ground at the speed of... flight?
We’re outside an aerospace facility in southern Spain
to get a first look at a hyperloop passenger pod that’s aiming to do just that.
Two…
One...
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies’ first full-scale passenger capsule
measures 105 feet long and weighs five tons.
It’s a real full-scale capsule. This is the first time that we will show what a hyperloop will look like.
Hyperloop transport is branded as a faster, cheaper and more energy-efficient way to move people and cargo.
This capsule is expected to fit between 28 and 40 passengers
and to reach speeds of up to 760 miles per hour.
We have the unique opportunity to build a transportation system the way you would do in 2018.
We can rethink everything. We can question everything. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Hyperloop transport was a dream first envisioned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in 2013.
The technology uses magnets to levitate pods and propel them through large tubes at ultra-fast speeds.
Imagine traveling at close to the speed of sound,
cutting the travel time between Los Angeles and San Francisco to around 30 minutes.
That’s a lot faster than a flight, which takes about an hour and a half, or driving, which takes about six hours.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies partnered with
a Spanish manufacturing and engineering company to build the capsule.
It took a combined 26,000 hours of skilled engineering and assembly.
We have the engineering capacity, we have the systems, the structures, we have the very high, high, high level.
So the interior of the capsule isn’t finished yet, they didn’t let any cameras inside.
Currently it’s a black tunnel, it’s waiting to be designed in the next step.
The company has said that design will include virtual windows.
The skin of the capsule is made using a material the company calls Vibranium
which consists of carbon fiber and embedded sensors.
From here, the capsule will be move to a research and development facility
in Toulouse, France for more assembly and testing.
But Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is just one of several companies in the race for superfast travel.
Virgin Hyperloop One has already completed successful but limited test-runs of its pods.
For all of the, well, hype, there are still questions about when and how exactly
hyperloop routes for passengers will get up and running.
Just think of the legal and regulatory hurdles.
It’s going to take a little bit longer to have the final legal framework
but it’s definitely much sooner than anybody would expect.
So, you know, three years and until worldwide adoption, maybe five to 10.
Even in the world of high-speed travel, there’s still some way to go
before you’ll be able to reach your destination on board a hyperloop.
Hey everyone, Elizabeth here. Thanks so much for watching.
Be sure to check out more of our videos over here and leave us any other ideas in the comments section.
Talk to you later.