What is kilometre per second?

Kilometre per second is a unit of speed equal to 1,000 metres per second. It is used in astrophysics, rocket propulsion, and the measurement of planetary and cosmic velocities.

Real-world uses

Kilometres per second is used in astronomy and astrophysics for orbital velocities, galaxy recession speeds, and asteroid approach velocities. Earth orbits the Sun at about 29.78 km/s, and escape velocity from Earth is about 11.2 km/s.

History

Kilometres per second became a standard unit in celestial mechanics and astrophysics during the 20th century. It provides convenient numbers for solar system velocities, while larger cosmic speeds are often expressed as fractions of the speed of light.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the enormous scale—1 km/s = 3,600 km/h. A common error is treating km/s figures as if they were km/h. Also, confusing orbital speed with escape velocity, which are related but different concepts.

What is mile per minute?

Mile per minute is a unit of speed equal to 60 miles per hour. It is occasionally used in motorsport, aviation briefings, and quick calculations for high-speed travel in imperial measurement systems.

Real-world uses

Miles per minute is occasionally used in aviation for expressing high speeds in a more intuitive way than mph for American audiences. An airliner cruising at about 575 mph is traveling roughly 9.6 miles per minute, making distance-to-destination calculations easier.

History

Miles per minute has never been widely adopted as a formal unit but emerged informally in American aviation contexts where expressing high speeds in mph yields very large numbers. It provides a more intuitive sense of how quickly distance is covered.

Common mistakes

Confusing miles per minute with miles per hour—1 mi/min = 60 mph. This is a speed unit rarely seen in everyday use, so people may misinterpret the scale of the numbers involved.

When is this conversion used?

Converting between kilometre per second and mile per minute is common when working across metric and imperial systems, such as international trade, travel between countries with different measurement standards, or following instructions from a different region.

Worked examples

1 kilometre per second = 37.28227153 mile per minute

1 mile per minute = 26.8224 metre per second

How to convert kilometre per second to mile per minute

To convert kilometre per second to mile per minute, multiply the value by 37.28227153.

To convert mile per minute back to kilometre per second, multiply by 0.0268224.

Measurement standards

The SI unit of speed is metres per second (m/s), a derived unit requiring no independent definition. The knot is defined as exactly one nautical mile (1,852 metres) per hour and is sanctioned for maritime and aeronautical navigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Did you know?

The fastest human-made object is the Parker Solar Probe, which reached 635,266 km/h (about 176 km/s) in 2024 during a close pass of the Sun — fast enough to travel from New York to Tokyo in under a minute.

Quick reference: kilometre per second to mile per minute

kilometre per second	mile per minute
0.1	3.72822715
0.5	18.64113577
1	37.28227153
2	74.56454307
5	186.41135767
10	372.82271534
25	932.05678836
50	1,864.11357671
100	3,728.22715342
250	9,320.56788356
500	18,641.13576712
1,000	37,282.27153424

Common values

	kilometre per second	mile per minute
Walking speed	0.0014 kilometre per second	0.05219518 mile per minute
City speed limit	0.0139 kilometre per second	0.51822357 mile per minute
Highway driving	0.0313 kilometre per second	1.1669351 mile per minute
Commercial aircraft	0.25 kilometre per second	9.32056788 mile per minute
Speed of sound (sea level)	0.34029 kilometre per second	12.68678418 mile per minute

Available Speed units

More kilometre per second conversions

Assumption: Mach uses an approximate sea-level reference (about 340.29 m/s).