SpaceX Tunnel & Hyperloop

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Elon Musk ‏@elonmusk Jan 27

Elon Musk Retweeted Hyperloop

And we start digging the tunnel tonight

Elon Musk added,
Hyperloop @Hyperloop
Teams from all around the world are gearing up for the opportunity to compete on @SpaceX’s Hyperloop test track this weekend. #breakapod

Sooooo, is that an Elon joke or hint? Building themselves a mini Hyperloop to travel between buildings?

 

[HVM]

Hyperloop
Live now.

 

[Yuri_G]

Elon Musk ‏@elonmusk Jan 27

Elon Musk Retweeted Hyperloop

And we start digging the tunnel tonight

Elon Musk added,
Hyperloop @Hyperloop
Teams from all around the world are gearing up for the opportunity to compete on @SpaceX’s Hyperloop test track this weekend. #breakapod

Sooooo, is that an Elon joke or hint? Building themselves a mini Hyperloop to travel between buildings?

Tunnel for re-routing car traffic. SpaceX has a separate hyperloop test track.

 

[aronth5]

Hyperloop
Live now.

And here is a recording of Elon's short speech at the beginning. Interesting comments about tunneling. Elon referred to their efforts as bumbling alone. Pretty funny stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPzpugrbwBE

I wasn't aware until listening to the interviews with some of the teams how much testing and work they did all week. They had to pass a series of tests before moving on. The actual test run for some seemed anti-climatic and even those who don't get a run didn't seem too concerned as they all indicated they would be back in the summer which will be a lot more exciting. Hopefully by then SpaceX will have added an air lock to avoid the 30 minutes to depressurize after the pod is loaded into the tube.

The interview with the team captain from the only high school team was pretty impressive.

 

[mspohr]

Of course, we must admit that a tunnel would be a good way for the Hyperloop to navigate densely populated areas.

 

[Bangor Bob]

+1 on the Hyperloop test segment needing airlocks! Having to pump-down the whole tunnel each time really slowed down the cycle time.

Still, very cool to see the pods going down the track. I wasn't expecting the condensation behind the pods!

 

[voyager]

+1 on the Hyperloop test segment needing airlocks! Having to pump-down the whole tunnel each time really slowed down the cycle time. Still, very cool to see the pods going down the track. I wasn't expecting the condensation behind the pods!

Elon Musk seems obsessed with tubes and cylinders, noticing his space rockets, hyperloop vision and, lately, his tunneling plans. He might want to consider moving people in sleek, lightweight canister- or pod-like vehicles. Easier to implement self-driving, the present infrastructure will suffice (lanes can be made narrower or lane-splitting will be possible), and the lighter the car, the better it will lend itself to battery power. Notice the remarkable similarity between the transportation modes.

 

[aronth5]

Here is the consolidated video of the 3 teams that actually ran their pods thru the near vacum tube.
During the broadcast they noted the curved track is an optical illusion.

Hopefully SpaceX will edit the live stream to include a summary of the rules, general information and some really great interviews with the teams. If you watched it live they also included brief clips by each team. Very neat stuff that would easily fit into a 30 minute video clip that would help everyone better understand the competition.

 

[Grendal]

360 degree video of one of the contestants: