2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition Rules and Requirements
ACM Reference Format:
. 2023. 2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition Rules and Requirements.
1, 1 (October 2023), 2 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/nnnnnnn.nnnnnnn
1 INTRODUCTION
This document outlines the competition logistics, rules Teams who
have built a Pod for a previous competition are eligible to compete
again provided they meet the student team eligibility described
above and they make tangible and clear modifications to their Pod
used for the previous competition and technical specifications for the
SpaceX test facilities. There will be some updates to the competition
rules as outlined in this document. The competition will be judged
solely on one criterion: maximum speed with successful deceleration
(i.e. without crashing).
2 ELIGIBILITY
Only student teams are eligible to enter the competition.The team
structure is flexible, with no minimum number of team members
and no maximum number. Each team must have a Faculty Adviser.
Faculty Advisers are not allowed to design the vehicle, directly par-
ticipate in creating any documentation or presentation Teams who
have built a Pod for a previous competition are eligible to compete
again provided they meet the student team eligibility described
above and they make tangible and clear modifications to their Pod
used for the previous competition. No human or animal shall ride in
any Pod or other transportation device used within the Hyperloop
Test Track during this competition or during any pre-competition
access.
3 POD REQUIREMENTS
The Pod requirements for the competition are intentionally broad
in order to encourage diversity of design.Pod minimum length is
5 feet. Pod maximum length is 24 feet. It can have a max mass of
1,500 Kgs.All straps, chains, shackles or slings must have at least
a safety factor of 2 and show the rating on them. 4. If the student
team has designed a lifting fixture, it must be designed to at least
a safety factor of 2 and be proof tested to 1.5 times the maximum
expected load prior to arrival at SpaceX.
3.1 POD SAFETY GUIDELINES
The following are all Pod safety guidelines (not requirements). In
cases where Pods do not comply with the guideline, the teams will
have to prove an equivalent and reasonable level of safety. All Pods
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https://doi.org/10.1145/nnnnnnn.nnnnnnn
shall maintain a minimum structural safety factor of 2 for yielding
and 3 for ultimate for reasonable load cases (e.g. acceleration, de-
celeration, pressure, etc.). Motors purchased from a supplier will be
considered safe to operate inside their designed operating range.
The battery management system shall be fault tolerant to prevent
overcharging he cells and it shall also isolate the battery in over tem-
perature conditions.Any pod with a high voltage system (120V+)
shall have systems in place to ensure the pod can be safely ap-
proached and handled if stuck in the tube. The following LED in-
dicator scheme is recommended: A RED indicator light on or near
every pack, A GREEN indicator light is on the front and back of the
pod,and shall be visible without removing any mechanical compo-
nents. And there are many other guidelines related to High-Voltage
Batteries, System Design, Proof Testing, Leak Testing, Navigation
and Control.
3.2 POD BRAKING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Besides the emergency “foam pit,” no braking system will be pro-
vided by SpaceX. Pods are therefore responsible for their own brak-
ing system in order to slow down near the end of the Hyperloop
Test Track.All braking operations shall be designed to minimize
damage to the track surface used for braking.All braking operations
using the central rail must be self-reacted and symmetric about the
rail. In other words, the braking operation must clamp the rail with
opposing brake pads instead of pushing a single pad against the rail.
Material in contact with the track shall be of a lower hardness than
the track component and shall be designed to wear as opposed to
stick/slip.
3.3 POD COMMUNICATIONS
Connectivity to the Pod will occur via an Ethernet network bridged
between the Staging Area and the Pod itself. SpaceX will provide
all infrastructure for this bridge network and will use a radiating
cable mounted along the top for the length of the tube.Bandwidth
to the Pod will vary, but expected bandwidth requirements should
not exceed 2 megabits per second.All traffic after the 2 megabits
per second limit is reached will be discarded. Pods shall not ex-
ceed their bandwidth budget.Teams will not be provided with a
network access panel (NAP) that SpaceX has provided in the past
for their Pods.Instead, teams are expected to come equipped with
an Ubiquiti Rocket M900 radio which can connect with SpaceX
base station radios.Teams shall send a binary telemetry frame to a
SpaceX computer for displaying live Pod information during the
competition. The following fields are mandatory: 1. team id 2. status
3. acceleration 4. position 5. velocity
3.3.1 CODE WORDS. The Pod status field communicates the state
of the Pod to SpaceX and the public and contains the following
states:
•0: Fault – When the Pod is in any fault state.
• 1: Safe to Approach – Any state where the Pod is on, not moving
and safe for team members and SpaceX volunteers to approach. The
Pod should go back to transmitting this state at the end of the run.
, Vol. 1, No. 1, Article . Publication date: October 2023.
2 •

• 2: Ready to Launch – Any state where the Pod is ready to launch The purpose of this briefing is for SpaceX to “sanity check” the
but not accelerating. design and ensure the entrant is heading in a viable direction. Fol-
• 3: Launching – Any state where the Pod is commanding propulsion lowing the submission, there may be a down-select decision in order
with the goal of achieving the highest velocity for the run. to properly manage the number of entrants.
• 4: Coasting – Any state where the Pod is moving but not acceler-
ating or decelerating. 7 FINAL DESIGN PACKAGE
• 5: Braking – Any state where the Pod is decelerating using its 8 FINAL DESIGN PRESENTATIONS
braking mechanism, a Pod can stay in this state after having come
Based on the Final Design Packages, SpaceX and The Boring Com-
to a full stop but should eventually go to Safe to approach.
pany will select teams to present their designs via video conference
• 6: Crawling – Any state where the Pod is commanding propulsion
to a judging panel composed of employees of SpaceX and The Bor-
with the goal of moving the Pod while not achieving the highest
ing Company. These presentations will include a QA session and
velocity for the run.
will take place in Winter 2019. More information about the video
The coasting and crawling states are optional, since they are de-
conference presentations will be released at a later date.
pendent on Pod design. All other states must be sent out from the
Pod. 9 SAFETY BRIEFING
4 HYPERLOOP TEST TRACK OVERVIEW 9.1 Summary of Top-Level Pod Information:
The test track will be a steel tube, fitted with an aluminum subtrack 9.2 Initial Pod Operations
and rail mounted to a concrete fill bed. At the tube’s egress door, 9.3 Pod Transport
there is a “foam pit” to help mitigate the hopefully non-occurring
9.4 Hazardous Operations – Magnets
case of a Pod braking system failure. The tube sections will rest on
concre te cradles, reinforced with steel and fitted with PTFE slip 9.5 Hazardous Operations – Pressurized Systems
bearings.Every 100 feet, a 4-inch wide reflective circumferential 9.6 Hazardous Operations – Rotating Components
stripe will be applied to the inner circumference of the tube. Thus,
9.7 Hazardous Operations – Batteries
there are 41 stripes: 100 feet, 200 feet, 300 feet...4,100 feet. The
stripes will be located on the upper 240° of the tube (“8 PM to 4 PM”). 9.8 Hazardous Operations – High Voltage Batteries
The stripe material will consist of Reflective Tape in Fluorescent 9.9 Software and Navigation Systems
Red-Orange Color.
9.10 Braking System(s)
5 OTHER TESTING FACILITIES 9.11 Additional Requirements
5.1 Pod Vacuum Chamber 9.12 Pod Unloading
Before being placed in the Hyperloop, Pods will have to demonstrate 9.13 Pod Heath Check
vacuum compatibility. To do so, SpaceX will provide a full-scale 9.14 General Information Packet
vacuum chamber. The chamber is the same diameter as the Hyper-
loop and has a length of 25 feet. The chamber has the same subtrack 10 POD TESTING
as the Hyperloop with the exception that the I-beam rail is only 10.1 Pressure Systems Inspection
12.5 feet long and does not span the entire length of the chamber. A 10.2 Mechanical Fit Check
wooden loading platform will be available to use for Pod ingress and
egress into the chamber. The vacuum chamber will have a subset of 10.3 Structural Inspection
the optical markings described in Section 6 for sensor tests, which 10.4 Battery Inspection
will include reflectors.
10.5 Functional Test
5.2 Pod External Subtrack 10.6 Vacuum Test
Before being placed in the Hyperloop, Pods will have to demonstrate 10.7 Navigation Test
basic low-speed motion, including braking and potentially levitating. 10.8 State Diagram Transition Test
To do so, SpaceX shall provide an external 150-foot long full-scale
aluminum subtrack (the aluminum plate and rail). 10.9 External Subtrack Test
10.10 Open-Air Hyperloop Test
6 PRELIMINARY DESIGN BRIEFING 10.11 Hyperloop Run
All teams will be asked to submit a Preliminary Design Briefing
11 CONCLUSION
document consisting of a PowerPoint slide deck (in PDF format)
of no more than 30 slides, along with a signed Competitor Entry Sorry I couldn’t complete the summary.
Agreement (this agreement will be sent to registered teams and Sorry for the inconvenience.
should be submitted as part of the Preliminary Design Briefing).

, Vol. 1, No. 1, Article . Publication date: October 2023.