[Corvettaholic]

We all know that Spaceship One won the Ansari X prize, right? Well I was just rethinking about rocketry again (big surprise), and I'm wondering how their engine worked. Basically, it used tire rubber and laughing gas (nitrous oxide). Both of these things are used for my car, but for other purposes. How can burning rubber generate enough thrust to get into space? I'm just curious as to the chemistry behind it  

[Donaldson Tan]

the olympus engine that powered the concorde could be in your history. there's a good book on it. It introduces the entire history of civilian supersonic flight and few chapters in layman terms on how the olympus engine that powers the famous concorde. The book's entitled "supersonic pioneer: the concorde"