(Henry Spencer):
Vincent Cate wrote:
Seen another nitrous-oxide/rubber hybrid engine with fiber optics
wound into the casing to detect if the case is burning through and
shut off the engine?

*That* part is not particularly novel. The power wires to the
solenoid valves of the shuttle RCS engines wrap around the
combustion chambers, for the same reason.

Because SS1 has a composite chamber they could put the fiber inside
as they made the chamber and so detect when things were going bad
before burning all the way through. Do the RCS ones trip before the
chamber has burned all the way through? Have you seen this trick on
an engine of this size before? I would feel much safer flying on a
rocket with a main engine that works like this.

Also, is this the first time a nitrous-oxide/rubber engine of
this size (or larger) has been used?

Incrementally advancing the state of the art is still advancing
the state of the art, even when it is not particularly novel.

-- Vince