Smithsonian Futures Exhibition this Fall

Just months after the world’s first hyperloop passenger testing, Virgin Hyperloop today announced that the passenger-carrying vehicle, dubbed Pegasus, will be making its public debut at the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building, Washington in November 2021. Previously, the Building has showcased world-changing inventions like Edison’s lightbulb, the first telephones, and Apollo rockets.

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"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, CEO and Co-Founder 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. As part of the Futures exhibit, Virgin Hyperloop invites visitors to imagine an optimistic view of the future in transportation: a greener, smoother, safer, and more pleasant mass transit experience, for all.

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"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."

By combining an ultra-efficient electric motor, magnetic levitation, and a low-drag environment, hyperloop systems can carry more people than a subway, at airline speeds, and with zero direct emissions – completely transforming the way we live, work, and play. The world’s first passenger testing aboard the Pegasus vehicle brought this vision one step closer to reality, ushering in a new era of sustainable mobility.

Visitors will be able to see the Pegasus vehicle in the Futures exhibition between November 2021 and July 2022. It is free and open to the public.

INFO: Virgin Hyperloop and Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building