Virgin Hyperloop’s historic pod is going to the Smithsonian.
In October, Virgin Hyperloop announced it was bringing a certification center to West Virginia – now, their technology is headed to the Smithsonian.
HYPERLOOP, THE FUTURISTIC TRANSPORT TUBE, has yet to make its debut on a full public track — but it’s already headed to one of the United States’ most iconic museums.
The vacuum-sealed pod transit system, outlined in a 2013 white paper by Elon Musk, is set to feature in an upcoming Arts and Industries Building exhibition themed around the future, Inverse can reveal. Visitors to the Smithsonian’s Futures exhibition, which starts in November 2021 and marks the institute’s 175th anniversary, will see Virgin Hyperloop’s Pegasus XP-2 pod up close for the first time.
The two-passenger pod made headlines in November 2020, when it hosted the first public passenger tests for the transit system. The test, held at the 500-meter (1,640 feet) DevLoop track in the Nevada desert, saw the pod accelerate to around 100 mph before slowing down. The trip lasted a matter of seconds, but CEO Josh Giegel told Inverse at the time that the trip was an “emotional” moment.
Learn more here at Inverse.com https://www.inverse.com/innovation/exclusive-virgin-hyperloops-historic-pod-is-going-to-the-smithsonian