Actually, this is a technology that's moved in reverse from the world of high-power amateur rocketry. Hybrid rocket motors using nitrous oxide and either HDPE or compressed cellulose (think Pine Mountain Log) as a fuel grain have been around for at least 5 years. My understanding is that the NASA system uses liquid oxygen as an oxidizer instead of nitrous oxide. Dump that into the core of the fuel grain and just about ANYTHING will work as fuel. The best part is that the motor is "throttleable" - adjust the flow of oxidizer and you control the burn rate and thrust.
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Actually, this is a technology that's moved in reverse from the world of high-power amateur rocketry. Hybrid rocket motors using nitrous oxide and either HDPE or compressed cellulose (think Pine Mountain Log) as a fuel grain have been around for at least 5 years. My understanding is that the NASA system uses liquid oxygen as an oxidizer instead of nitrous oxide. Dump that into the core of the fuel grain and just about ANYTHING will work as fuel. The best part is that the motor is "throttleable" - adjust the flow of oxidizer and you control the burn rate and thrust.