Hyperloop One Test Site, Nevada

At the top of the Apex Industrial Park north of Las Vegas is the nation’s first full scale Hyperloop test site. Hyperloops, of course, are large diameter vacuum tubes, which propel pods inside them by air pressure, at very high rates of speed. Similar to the pneumatic tube system still found in some large retail operations, where small capsules are used to move cash to and from cashiers, hyperloops upsize this technology to move people, as well as goods, inside the pods. With two test areas, and a 1,500 foot long full-scale tube section, this site is likely the largest test site for a hyperloop system in the USA. It completed its first full-scale test run in May, 2017. That year Richard Branson, whose Virgin brand operates an airline, and is developing the commercial space flight center in New Mexico, joined the team of investors, and the Apex project is now known as Virgin Hyperloop One, and is based out of Los Angeles.