Video narration
Does a rocket push air down to climb? When you let go of a full balloon, air rushes out one way, and the balloon shoots the other. That familiar flight gives you the key: push something backward, and it moves forward. But a rocket isn't leaning on air around it. It sends hot gases backward, and that pushes the rocket forward. A balloon and a rocket don't work in exactly the same way. The balloon releases air it already holds; a rocket makes a strong stream of gases from material it carries. That matters in space, where there's no surrounding air to push against. The rocket brings what it needs, then sends it out behind itself. So, does it need to push air down? No. Like the balloon, it rises by sending gases downward; the push sends it upward, even in space.