nearestkilometerpersecond

Nearestkilometerpersecond is a conceptual notation used to describe a velocity value expressed in kilometers per second that has been rounded to the nearest whole number. It is not a separate unit or standard, but a data representation used in contexts where coarse velocity information is sufficient or where uniform reporting of speeds is desired. The underlying unit remains the kilometer per second (km/s).

Formally, for any velocity v measured in km/s, the nearestkilometerpersecond value n is the integer closest to v. For nonnegative speeds, n = floor(v + 0.5); for signed velocities, the sign is preserved and rounding follows the same rule. In practice, this yields a rounded speed such as 3 km/s or 12 km/s, without decimals.

Examples: a spacecraft traveling at 7.3 km/s would be represented as 7 km/s under this convention, while one at 7.8 km/s would be represented as 8 km/s. A velocity of −2.6 km/s would round to −3 km/s if halves are rounded up in magnitude, depending on the chosen tie-breaking rule.

Limitations include loss of precision and directional detail. Nearestkilometerpersecond is most suitable for coarse catalogs, quick-look comparisons, or educational illustrations where the magnitude is sufficient and sub-kilometer-per-second precision is unnecessary. It should not be used where precise velocity measurements are required or where changes within a single kilometer per second are scientifically significant.