Convert Orbital Speed (ISS) to Miles per Second

Convert Orbital Speed (ISS) (v_orb) to Miles per Second (mi/s) instantly and accurately.

Conversion Formula

mi/s = v_orb × 4.759703333

About Orbital Speed (ISS)

The ISS orbits at ~408 km altitude at ≈7,660 m/s (27,576 km/h) - the practical LEO benchmark. At this speed it completes one orbit in 92.68 min (15.5 orbits per day), giving astronauts 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours. Delta-v to reach LEO from Earth's surface is ~9,400 m/s (with gravity and drag losses). GEO at 35,786 km requires only ~3,075 m/s per Kepler's third law. 1 ISS speed ≈ 7,660 m/s.

About Miles per Second

A mile per second (mi/s) = exactly 1,609.344 m/s - above the fastest air-breathing aircraft. NASA X-43A scramjet: 2.9 km/s ≈ 1.8 mi/s (Mach 9.6). Earth's orbital speed around the Sun: ~18.5 mi/s (29.8 km/s). Light travels ~186,282 mi/s in vacuum - the classic imperial figure still used in popular astronomy. Tunguska impactor entered Earth's atmosphere at ~9-11 mi/s. 1 mi/s = 3,600 mph = 3,128.3 kn.

Quick Reference Table

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