I was going to joke and say: that’s like, what, warp 0.0001.

In the Star Trek universe, warp factors are a way to measure faster-than-light travel. The speed of light is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (km/s). To convert your given speed of 32,000 km/hr into a warp factor, we need to use the formula that relates warp factor to the speed of light:

v = c * (w^(10/3))

where:

•	v is the speed in multiples of the speed of light (c),
•	w is the warp factor.

First, convert 32,000 km/hr into kilometers per second (km/s):

32,000 km/hr = 32,000 / 3,600 km/s ≈ 8.89 km/s

Now, find the warp factor using the speed of light:

w = (v / c)^(1 / (10/3))

w = (8.89 km/s / 299,792 km/s)^(1 / (10/3))

Calculate the fraction inside the parentheses:

8.89 / 299,792 ≈ 0.00002967

Now raise this to the power of 3/10:

0.00002967^(3/10) ≈ 0.000657

So, approximately:

w ≈ 0.000657

Therefore, a speed of 32,000 km/hr corresponds to a very low warp factor, approximately Warp 0.000657 in the Star Trek scale.

Any sort of long continuous thruster can do that in deep space, assuming there’s enough fuel / fuel to weight ratio. And ion engines are simply extremely fuel efficient, but also extremely weak in their actual output.

It seems weird to me that they would measure a thruster in maximum speed and not by the force is generates. Doesn’t the maximum speed depend on the mass it is propelling and a bunch of other factors like friction and gravity?