Hyperloop One Successfully Completes First Full Test Run Of Pods At 113 KMPH In Total Vacuum

Bye bye traffic jams! Elon Musk's dream of an ultrafast transport system involving a network of tubes is closer to realization.

Hyperloop One -- the company that's tasked with developing the next-gen transport system -- announced yesterday that it successfully completed the first full-scale test of its hyperloop technology in a vacuum environment. During the testing phase at the company's Nevada test track, the hyperloop vehicle inside the tube reached a max speed of 113 kilometres per hour.

Hyperloop One test track in Nevada

Hyperloop One confirmed yesterday that the tests were actually conducted on May 12, and also gave a first glimpse of its internal pods and what they look like, according to The Verge.

Hyperloop One Vehicle / The Verge

The aerodynamic Hyperloop pod measures 28 feet long and is constructed of aluminium and carbon fiber. It uses electromagnetic propulsion and mag-lev technology to propel both humans as well as cargo at near supersonic speeds.

The above video was posted on Hyperloop One's Youtube channel yesterday, where the company shows a behind-the-scenes look into its control room, busy conducting a low-speed test of the Hyperloop pod in total vacuum.

"Hyperloop One has accomplished what no one has done before by successfully testing the first full scale Hyperloop system," Shervin Pishevar, the company's co-founder said in a statement. "By achieving full vacuum, we essentially invented our own sky in a tube, as if you¡¯re flying at 200,000 feet in the air."

What next for Hyperloop One?

Hyperloop One will now enter the next phase of testing the system out with the goal of reaching 250 mph or just over 400 kmph of speed with the Hyperloop pods in total vacuum.

That's still short of what Elon Musk said Hyperloop's capable of -- reaching a speed of 750 mph -- but let's hope the testing will ultimately help the team reach the promised land.