Elon Musk and his company, SpaceX, have finally chosen one of the major firms that will be integral to the construction of the Hyperloop. Aecom, considered one of the global leaders in design and construction, is set to build the Hyperloop test track later in 2016.
"Aecom has designed and built some of the world's most impressive transportation systems, so we appreciate how the development of a functioning Hyperloop with SpaceX can dramatically expand the ways people move across cities, countries, and continents," said Michael Burke, Aecom chairman and CEO, about the endeavor.
You might have seen the final (or almost final) product of an Aecom project without even knowing it: the company is responsible for urban hallmarks like the coppery, futuristic-looking Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Crossrail tunnel that is currently being completed in London. The latter may or may not be an example for why the firm was chosen — its experience with transit, and more pointedly, the track it runs on.
So, how does the company plan to do it? According to the Verge:
"The test track's six-foot diameter steel tube will include a non-magnetic sub-track and run nearly one mile adjacent to SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. Cradled in place above ground, it will serve as a vacuum-sealed, high-speed proving ground for transport pod prototypes being developed as part of a SpaceX design competition."
Via: The Verge
