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SpaceX Tests Three Hyperloop Pod Designs

This past weekend SpaceX hosted its hyperloop competition at its Hawthorne headquarters.

This past weekend SpaceX hosted its hyperloop competition at its Hawthorne headquarters. Students had the opportunity to test their creative pod designs for the very first time in a low-pressure track environment.

Thirty teams were selected to participate in the hyperloop trials, but only three lucky squads were able to perform test runs over the weekend. This was due to the fact that each design had to pass a series of trials, testing components like structural integrity and vacuum chamber survivability.

The three selected teams were from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Delft University, and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). After each pod sped down the test chamber, the TUM design achieved the fastest speed, clocking in at 56 mph (90 km/h).

First place was awarded to the Delft team, which obtained the highest overall score. The students from TUM recorded the fastest time, which earned them second in the rankings. Finally, MIT came in third, after receiving the award for the best overall design in 2016.

This summer will commence the final phase of SpaceX's hyperloop competition, where all thirty teams have the potential to compete if they pass the preliminary tests. Until then, you can enjoy watching the hyperloop test footage in the video below.

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