Kilometer

A Kilometer is a unit of measurement of distance.

• It is a standard Imperial metric.
• It is a planetary scale measurement.

Description (Specifications)

A kilometer is a frequently used unit of measurement of distance. It is typically used to describe large areas such as infrastructure elements or geographical features.

• It is equivalent to one thousand (10³) meters.
• The common Imperial abbreviation is km.

A typical runway, of the type found at airports, spaceports and starports, is around 2.0 km in length.

History & Background (Dossier)

In military parlance, a kilometer may be referred to as a klick.

The kilometer was first defined as a unit of distance on Terra prior to the foundation of the Terran Confederation. Technologists found the kilometer useful as the concept of the Technology Level and standardized ideas about sophont society development began to take form.

Common Local Derivations

A number of local variant units based on the kilometer are in use around Charted Space, many of which are modifications of earlier unit systems that have been maintained, mostly for cultural reasons or tradition:

• Metric Mile. The metric mile is based on an older measuring standard of Ancient Terra, and describes a distance of 1.5 km.
• Metric League. A metric league spans 5.0 km.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Frank Chadwick, Dave Nilsen. Fire, Fusion, & Steel (Game Designers Workshop, 1994), 5.
• David Golden, Guy Garnett. Fire, Fusion & Steel (Imperium Games, 1997), 7.
• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), 615.
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science