U.S. Air Force broke maglev speed record at 633 MPH

4/29/2016, Milan Šurkala

Maglev technology is the transportation of the future. U.S. Air Force tested its special maglev sled and has broken the speed record at 633 mph. That is about 120 mph faster than the previous one.

We can expect that maglev technology would be quite common in the future as it is a very fast method of transportation. The world speed record for a maglev train is 366 mph (589 km/h), but there were attempts with different maglev "vehicles" that has been even faster. In 2013, U.S. Air Force managed to achieve unbelievable 513 mph (825 km/h) and they have beaten themselves with even more powerful rocket sled at 633 mph (1018 km/h). Such a high speeds are easier to achieve because there is no friction between the track and the vehicle.

U.S. Air Force researchers from the 846th Test Squadron carried out the test at Holloman Air Force Base where the 2100-foot (640 metres) long track was built. The rocket sled was able to achieve 633 mph and covered the track in two seconds. With such speed, the sled achieves approximate speed of jets and would be able to cover the entire Earth around the equator in less than 40 hours.

Source: digitaltrends.com, youtube.com