For example, what happens if the tube re-pressurizes due to a crack or something like that? The capsule flies into dense air at 700 mph and, um, that’s all she wrote. There’s another capsule doing 700 mph behind it, can you brake it in time?
A minor depressurization of the tube is unlikely to affect Hyperloop capsules or passengers and would likely be overcome by increased vacuum pump power. Any minor tube leaks could then be repaired during standard maintenance.
In the event of a large scale leak, pressure sensors located along the tube would automatically communicate with all capsules to deploy their emergency mechanical braking systems.
(The capsules would be around 6 miles apart at their top speed.)
A bunch of safety issues come to mind.
For example, what happens if the tube re-pressurizes due to a crack or something like that? The capsule flies into dense air at 700 mph and, um, that’s all she wrote. There’s another capsule doing 700 mph behind it, can you brake it in time?
This is addressed in section 4.
(The capsules would be around 6 miles apart at their top speed.)