After a first passenger testing in November, Virgin Hyperloop has announced that the passenger-carrying vehicle, dubbed Pegasus, will be making its public debut at the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building in November.
The location has previously showcased world-changing inventions like Edison’s lightbulb, the first telephones and Apollo rockets.
“Growing up, I spent family vacations at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, seeing first-hand how engineers could change the world,” said Josh Giegel, chief executive of Virgin Hyperloop.
“Having the vehicle the Virgin Hyperloop team created on display at the Smithsonian, inspiring the next generation of engineers to think big, is truly a dream come true.”
The historic Arts + Industries Building will temporarily reopen this autumn for the first time in nearly two decades with the debut exhibition Futures, the Smithsonian’s first major building-wide exploration of the future.
“Since opening in 1881, the Arts + Industries Building has been an incubator of ideas that, while at the time may have felt unimaginable, have gone on to profoundly impact the ways in which we experience the world around us,” said Rachel Goslins, director of the Arts + Industries Building.
“Hyperloop is one of these leaps that signal a transformative shift in how we could live and travel.
“We invite visitors to discover the Pegasus pod in the very building where Americans first encountered famous steam engines, the Apollo 11 lunar capsule and the Spirit of St. Louis.”
Visitors will be able to see the Pegasus vehicle in the Futures exhibition between November and July 2022.
Image: Virgin Hyperloop