April 4, 2001

Questchat with Kelly McEntire

NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 3 - 10:01:36 ]
Good morning! We are here ready to chat with Kelly McEntire! Hi Kelly!

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 5 - 10:01:57 ]
Hi, I am here ready to chat.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 7 - 10:02:16 ]
RE: [brandon] hello?
Hi, Brandon, How are you?

Susan/NASAChatHost - 6 - 10:02:02 ]
Hi Brandon!

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 8 - 10:02:51 ]
Kelly has NASA found ways to reduce noise on jet engines?

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 13 - 10:06:02 ]
Yes, we have done several things over the last few years to reduce noise. Engines of today are much quieter than engines of just ten years ago?

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 10 - 10:04:03 ]
RE: [brandon] am i the only kid on this thing
I guess you are the first person here today! do you have a question for Kelly?

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 12 - 10:05:38 ]
RE: [brandon] no he is my dad
You must be very proud, do you want to work at NASA some day?

[ brandon - 15 - 10:06:31 ]
maybe

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 16 - 10:07:13 ]
RE: [Bryan] Hello anyone still here???
Hey Bryan you are just in time to ask Kelly a question

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 17 - 10:07:55 ]
Hi, Bryan

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 21 - 10:10:57 ]
RE: [Susan/NASAChatHost] Kelly is there a trade off between having a powerful jet and a quiet jet?
Yes, there are always trade off like this. When we work on technologies that reduce noise, we are watching at the same time to make sure we don't sacrifice performance and efficiency.

[ brandon - 22 - 10:11:13 ]
how do you get a jet engine to produce less noise

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 23 - 10:11:34 ]
RE: [Bryan] kelly do you have any people from Australia asking any questions
I don't know where everyone is from? Where are you all from?

[ Bryan - 24 - 10:12:23 ]
Western Australia

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 25 - 10:14:28 ]
RE: [Bryan] Western Australia
Cool! Western Austrailia is a long ways from here. I am in Cleveland, Ohio which is in the north eastern US.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 27 - 10:15:21 ]
Bryan are you interested in jet engines?

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 35 - 10:20:06 ]
RE: [Bryan] rocket engines
We are working on a combined rocket and jet engine here at Glenn Research Center. It is referred to as RBCC or Rocket Based Combined Cycle. It is intended for space travel. A jet engine is an air breathing engine, but rockets required that oxygen be carried with it. The RBCC engine breaths air while in the atmosphere, hence not needed to carry its oxygen. Once it gets beyond earths atmosphere, it begins buring like a rocket where the oxygen is supplied by the on board fuel. This saves a lot of weight, since the oxygen does not have to be carried up on the vehicle.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 29 - 10:17:13 ]
RE: [brandon] when will the space station be completed
The space station is now operating. There have been astronauts on it for 5 or six months. There are plans to expand it from where it is today and this should be completed in 3 or 4 more years.

[ Bryan - 31 - 10:18:26 ]
I'm teaching a class in radio Astronomy at the moment

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 32 - 10:18:50 ]
RE: [brandon] i have to go now bye
Brandon, I hope you'll come again!

[ Bryan - 34 - 10:19:23 ]
a fellow teacher is teaching rocketry

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 36 - 10:20:57 ]
RE: [IVAN] whats on the dark side of the moon?
The same thing that is on the light side of the month, a lot of moon rocks and dust.

[ Bryan - 37 - 10:21:29 ]
bye Brandon

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 39 - 10:22:36 ]
Welcome Sarah and Ivan!

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 40 - 10:22:56 ]
RE: [SarahGreenmeadow] Would a jet engine be good for a Mars airplane
No, because a jet engine must breath oxygen from the air that flows through it. Mars has no oxygen. All combustion requires an oxidizer, which is the air flowing through the engine. A rocket carries it own oxygen.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 44 - 10:26:26 ]
RE: [KellyMcEntire/GRC] No, because a jet engine must breath oxygen from the air that flows through it. Mars has no oxygen. All combustion requires an oxidizer, which is the air flowing through the engine. A rocket carries it own oxygen.
The Space Shuttle has two types of rockets, a solid fuel rocket and liquid fuel rockets. The two strap on rockets on the side are called SRB's or Solid Rocket Busters. The oxidizer is mixed into the solid propellant so that it will burn anywhere. The liquid rockets use fuel from inside the large tank that the shuttle sits on. This large container is nothing more than a big tank with two smaller tanks inside, one oxygen tank and one hydrogen tank.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 46 - 10:27:27 ]
RE: [SarahGreenmeadow] How does arocket engine carry air?
A rocket engine doesn't carry air, but it does carry oxygen in either liquid or solid form.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 49 - 10:30:12 ]
RE: [Bryan] Is this the new system I've been reading about???
There are several types of new engines being studied right now. The goal is to build a space plane that can travel to orbit without dropping off any parts like the shuttle drops off the external tank and SRB's.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 50 - 10:30:26 ]
RE: [Bryan] Is this the new system I've been reading about???
There are several types of new engines being studied right now. The goal is to build a space plane that can travel to orbit without dropping off any parts like the shuttle drops off the external tank and SRB's.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 51 - 10:31:00 ]
I work on jet engine research. NASA does space research and aeronautical research. Right now, I am working on the aeronautical side of NASA.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 52 - 10:31:11 ]
RE: [Bryan] bye all it's 0130Hrs here
Bye Bryan join us again!

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 54 - 10:31:39 ]
RE: [SarahGreenmeadow] Do you work on rocket engines?
Yes, we work on rockets with this Rocket Based Combined Cycle or RBCC engine.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 55 - 10:32:45 ]
RE: [Mark/Plainview] Do jet engines cause pollution?
Yes, jet engines do cause pollution just like your car engine. Reducing jet engine pollution is another important area that we do research in.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 56 - 10:34:17 ]
Mark and Sarah, what kinds of things are you both interested in?

[ SarahGreenmeadow - 59 - 10:38:00 ]
I like mars I want to go there!

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 60 - 10:38:39 ]
RE: [Mark/Plainview] Thanks for the answer! Do you try to make jets faster?
It depends on what kind of plane we are working on. When we work to make engines quieter, this is mainly on engine that are used on commerical plans that you or I would fly on. If we work on military aircraft engines, we do try to make these go faster. The RBCC engine that I mentioned above will be a hypersonic engine. You have heard of supersonic which is from the speed of sound (Mach 1) to Mach 5 (5 times the speed of sound). Hypersonic is from Mach 5 on up .In order for an airbreathing rocket engine to be successful, it must reach hypersonic speed in the atmosphere where there is air available. So the RBCC engine would get to about Mach 12 before it gets up above where oxygen is available. That is about 10,000 miles per hour or about 3 miles a second.

[ Mark/Plainview - 64 - 10:41:51 ]
I like science and airplanes

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 67 - 10:43:02 ]
RE: [Jason] What is the fastest jet engine?
The fastest jet engine is a secret that only the airforce knows.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 70 - 10:44:55 ]
RE: [Susan/NASAChatHost] Good questions kids! Kelly what does the turbo part of turbo jet mean?
Turbo refers to rotating. The real name for a jet engine is Gas Turbine Engine. The parts inside a jet engine spin at about 15,000 revolutions per minute or about 250 revolutions per second.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 73 - 10:46:50 ]
RE: [KellyMcEntire/GRC] Turbo refers to rotating. The real name for a jet engine is Gas Turbine Engine. The parts inside a jet engine spin at about 15,000 revolutions per minute or about 250 revolutions per second.
A turbine is something that generates power. Turbines are used in most electrical generating power plants. These plants use steam to turn the turbines which in turn spins an electrical generator. This is similar to what happens inside a jet engine.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 75 - 10:48:23 ]
RE: [Jason] Are you a pilot? did you ever fly at Mack 1
No, I am not a pilot. I am a mechanical engineer and I have not traveled any faster than about 600 mph.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 76 - 10:48:36 ]
Wow this has been a fun chat. Ten more minutes! Send in you last questions.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 77 - 10:49:15 ]
RE: [Jason] Are you a pilot? did you ever fly at Mack 1
No, I am not a pilot. I am a mechanical engineer and I have not traveled any faster than about 600 mph.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 78 - 10:50:36 ]
RE: [IVAN] just think there might be military base on the other side of the moon
Why do you think there might be a military base on the other side of the moon? Do you think it might be from an alian air force or maybe some on the earth.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 81 - 10:54:09 ]
RE: [Jason] Do you make jets for the military?
NASA is not in the business of making jet engines for the military. We design new types of engines, but we only make one of them. Once we come up with a new engine and have tested it to make sure it works the way we want it to, then we hand it off to an engine company that will then make lots of them for military jets.

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 82 - 10:55:09 ]
RE: [SarahGreenmeadow] Can a solar panel plane work on Mars?
Yes, all a solar panel needs is sunlight. I'm sure when we go to Mars, we will take solar panels with us to generate power for our lights and other things.

[ Mark/Plainview - 84 - 10:57:35 ]
I have to go thanks

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 85 - 10:58:37 ]
RE: [Jason] Are miltary jets the best?
Military jets are the best for flying fast and accelerating, but they are not the best for flying farthest or using less fuel. Military jets are also not the largest or most powerful. The jet engines that fly you and me to vacations are the biggest and most powerful.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 86 - 10:59:17 ]
Thanks kids for really good questions. I learned a lot. Thanks Kelly this has been a terrific chat!

[ KellyMcEntire/GRC - 87 - 11:00:00 ]
Bye bye everyone. Come again and speak to someone else someday.

[ SarahGreanmeadow - 88 - 11:01:53 ]
Thank you