Hyperloop One reveals first successful full-systems test

Hyperloop One (H1), one of the companies developing Tesla Motors owner Elon Musk’s concept for a supersonic long-distance maglev transport technology achieved its first full-systems test two months ago, it revealed this week. The test, at the company’s facility in the Nevada desert, was not of a deployment-ready system — it involved sending a levitating test sled 315-foot (96m) along a section of tubing rather than a pod capable of carrying freight or passengers — but the vacuum, propulsion, magnetic levitation, guidance and braking systems were all integrated and tested together for the first time, and the tube used, 11ft (3.3m) in diameter, was full-size.

The sled reached a speed of 70mph (112.6km/hr) in 5.3 sec, accelerating at 2g, propelled by 100ft (30.5m) of linear motor mounted inside the tube. It’s a long way from the target speed that Hyperloop One has set for the system — 700mph (1126km/hr) — but as a first step, company founders Shervin Pineshar and Josh Giegel declared themselves delighted.