Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the
speed of sound (
Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at
sea level, this speed is approximately 343.2
m/s, 1,125
ft/s, 768
mph, 667
knots, or 1,235
km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5) are often referred to as
hypersonic. Flights during which only some parts of the air surrounding an object, such as the ends of rotor blades, reach supersonic speeds are called
transonic. This occurs typically somewhere between Mach 0.8 and Mach 1.23.