SpaceX is holding a competition to design and build pods for the company’s high-speed travel ‘Hyperloop’ aimed at taking passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back at 750mph (1207.5km/h).
Elon Musk outlined in a white paper in 2013.
SpaceX is now holding a competition in which entrants design and build a half-scale Hyperloop pod. Initial entry details are available here. Full criteria and rules for the competition will be released in August 2015.
As part of the competition, SpaceX will design and build a sub-scale Hyperloop test track approximately 4-5 feet wide and approximately one mile long. The entrants’ pods will be tested on this track.
Entrants must submit their Intent to Compete in the competition by September 15, 2015, and their Final Design Packages by December 15, 2015.
On the weekend of January 9, 2016 the entrants will showcase their designs to an evaluation panel comprised mainly of SpaceX engineers, university professors, and Tesla Motors engineers.
Companies will then choose which teams to sponsor.
SpaceX says that entrants who are not interested in building a pod can still submit designs for a pod, an individual subsystem, or a safety feature. They would subsequently receive feedback.
On a weekend in June, 2016, the pods will be tested on a track.
SpaceX is yet to announce what prize the competitions winners will receive.
