Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp, speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo : Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
Space X C.E.O Elon Musk is hosting a Hyperloop event at Space X this from Jan. 27 to Jan. 29, this weekend. His idea is to build a commercial Hyperloop which can shoot people from San Francisco to Los Angeles via a vacuum tube in only half an hour.
According to Venture Beat, Musk's space-bound firm, Space X, is challenging both students and independent engineers to pick up the pace in the development of a functional Hyperloop model. The C.E.O first mentioned plans to build a one-mile long prototype two years ago.
Musk took to Twitter to warm up the desires of those who have been wishing to see a real Hyperloop in action and to announce his plans to interested engineers and inventors. The prominent inventor had promised in 2016 that he would build one in future.
And we start digging the tunnel tonight https://t.co/UYSIU0qg34
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2017
According to Space X's website, the knowledge gained during the Hyperloop event will remain to be open-sourced. The company also maintains that it has no affiliation with any Hyperloop companies and simply wants to accelerate the development of a working prototype.
Space X plans to build a test track next to its Hawthorne, California headquarters where teams will test their human-scale pods throughout the competition. Overwhelming enthusiasm and high-quality submissions already presented have even prompted the company to organize another competition named Hyperloop Pod Competition II. This one will happen in summer at the same test track.
Hyperloop Pod Competition II will focus on maximum speed and is already open to new student teams fascinated by the idea. Students who have their already-built pods and are intending to refine their designs are also welcomed.
Meanwhile, Space X will expand its operations in Seattle by building a large research facility in the area. The office is not far away from another facility of its own in Redmond, Washington.
In fact, it happens to be only 30 miles away from Blue Origin headquarters, Jeff Bezos's space flight company. By getting slower to Blue Origin, Space X has set a pace in the competition between the two companies.
Space X's new facility is expected to house research and development operations of the company's ambitious satellite internet project. Here is a clip of a concept Hyperloop prototype:
