Kilometers per Second Conversion Calculator

Enter a value in kilometers per second below to convert to another unit of speed.

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What Are Kilometers per Second?

Kilometers per second are a measurement of speed.

The kilometer per second, or kilometre per second, is an SI unit of speed in the metric system. Kilometers per second can be abbreviated as km/s, and are also sometimes abbreviated as km/sec. For example, 1 kilometer per second can be written as 1 km/s or 1 km/sec.

In the expressions of units, the slash, or solidus (/), is used to express a change in one or more units relative to a change in one or more other units.[1] For example, km/s is expressing a change in length or distance relative to a change in time.

Kilometers per second can be expressed using the formula:
vkm/s = dkm / tsec

The velocity in kilometers per second is equal to the distance in kilometers divided by time in seconds.

How Fast Is a Kilometer per Second?

Kilometers per second are a measurement of speed expressing the distance traveled in kilometers in one second.

How to Convert Kilometers per Second

To convert kilometers per second to another unit of speed, you need to multiply the value by a conversion factor. A conversion factor is a numerical value used to change the units of a measurement without changing the value.[2]

You can find the conversion factors for kilometers per second in the conversion table below.

Then, multiply the speed measurement by the conversion factor to find the equivalent value in the desired unit of measurement.

kilometers per second × conversion factor = result

You can also use a calculator, such as one of the converters below, for the conversion.

Kilometers per Second Conversion Table

Common kilometers per second values and equivalent imperial and metric speed measurements
kilometers per second knots Mach number speed of sound speed of light miles per hour feet per second kilometers per hour meters per second centimeters per second
1 km/s 1,944 kn Mach 2.915452 2.915452 sound 0.0000033356 c 2,237 mph 3,281 ft/s 3,600 km/h 1,000 m/s 100,000 cm/s
2 km/s 3,888 kn Mach 5.830904 5.830904 sound 0.0000066713 c 4,474 mph 6,562 ft/s 7,200 km/h 2,000 m/s 200,000 cm/s
3 km/s 5,832 kn Mach 8.746356 8.746356 sound 0.000010007 c 6,711 mph 9,843 ft/s 10,800 km/h 3,000 m/s 300,000 cm/s
4 km/s 7,775 kn Mach 11.661808 11.661808 sound 0.000013343 c 8,948 mph 13,123 ft/s 14,400 km/h 4,000 m/s 400,000 cm/s
5 km/s 9,719 kn Mach 14.577259 14.577259 sound 0.000016678 c 11,185 mph 16,404 ft/s 18,000 km/h 5,000 m/s 500,000 cm/s
6 km/s 11,663 kn Mach 17.492711 17.492711 sound 0.000020014 c 13,422 mph 19,685 ft/s 21,600 km/h 6,000 m/s 600,000 cm/s
7 km/s 13,607 kn Mach 20.408163 20.408163 sound 0.000023349 c 15,659 mph 22,966 ft/s 25,200 km/h 7,000 m/s 700,000 cm/s
8 km/s 15,551 kn Mach 23.323615 23.323615 sound 0.000026685 c 17,895 mph 26,247 ft/s 28,800 km/h 8,000 m/s 800,000 cm/s
9 km/s 17,495 kn Mach 26.239067 26.239067 sound 0.000030021 c 20,132 mph 29,528 ft/s 32,400 km/h 9,000 m/s 900,000 cm/s
10 km/s 19,438 kn Mach 29.154519 29.154519 sound 0.000033356 c 22,369 mph 32,808 ft/s 36,000 km/h 10,000 m/s 1,000,000 cm/s
11 km/s 21,382 kn Mach 32.069971 32.069971 sound 0.000036692 c 24,606 mph 36,089 ft/s 39,600 km/h 11,000 m/s 1,100,000 cm/s
12 km/s 23,326 kn Mach 34.985423 34.985423 sound 0.000040028 c 26,843 mph 39,370 ft/s 43,200 km/h 12,000 m/s 1,200,000 cm/s
13 km/s 25,270 kn Mach 37.900875 37.900875 sound 0.000043363 c 29,080 mph 42,651 ft/s 46,800 km/h 13,000 m/s 1,300,000 cm/s
14 km/s 27,214 kn Mach 40.816327 40.816327 sound 0.000046699 c 31,317 mph 45,932 ft/s 50,400 km/h 14,000 m/s 1,400,000 cm/s
15 km/s 29,158 kn Mach 43.731778 43.731778 sound 0.000050035 c 33,554 mph 49,213 ft/s 54,000 km/h 15,000 m/s 1,500,000 cm/s
16 km/s 31,102 kn Mach 46.64723 46.64723 sound 0.00005337 c 35,791 mph 52,493 ft/s 57,600 km/h 16,000 m/s 1,600,000 cm/s
17 km/s 33,045 kn Mach 49.562682 49.562682 sound 0.000056706 c 38,028 mph 55,774 ft/s 61,200 km/h 17,000 m/s 1,700,000 cm/s
18 km/s 34,989 kn Mach 52.478134 52.478134 sound 0.000060042 c 40,265 mph 59,055 ft/s 64,800 km/h 18,000 m/s 1,800,000 cm/s
19 km/s 36,933 kn Mach 55.393586 55.393586 sound 0.000063377 c 42,502 mph 62,336 ft/s 68,400 km/h 19,000 m/s 1,900,000 cm/s
20 km/s 38,877 kn Mach 58.309038 58.309038 sound 0.000066713 c 44,739 mph 65,617 ft/s 72,000 km/h 20,000 m/s 2,000,000 cm/s

Kilometers per Second Conversion Calculators

You can also convert speed using one of our kilometers per second converters below.

References

  1. National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Guide to the SI, Chapter 6: Rules and Style Conventions for Printing and Using Units, https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811/nist-guide-si-chapter-6-rules-and-style-conventions-printing-and-using
  2. National Institute of Standards & Technology, Unit Conversion, https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metric-si/unit-conversion

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