A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonisation, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo.
All spacecrafts cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket).
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket engine. Rocket engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellant carried within the rocket before use. Propellant is a substance that propels something.
Thrust is the force which moves an aircraft through the air. Thrust is used to overcome the drag of an airplane, and to overcome the weight of a rocket. The engine does work on the gas and accelerates the gas to the rear of the engine; the thrust is generated in the opposite direction from the accelerated gas.
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Rockets and engines in space behave according to Isaac Newton's third law of motion: Every action produces an equal and opposite reaction.
When a rocket shoots fuel out one end, this propels the rocket forward — no air is required.
Using a balloon to demonstrate how rockets work (video)
The air coming out the end of the balloon acts like a force (thrust) and pushes the balloon forward.
Why do you think a rocket can work in the vacuum (without air) of space?
Rockets carry their own oxygen, so they will work in the vacuum of space even when there is no oxygen in space.
Rockets are used to launch satellites and Space Shuttles into space. Their powerful engines allow spacecraft to be blasted into space at incredible speeds, putting them into the correct orbit.
Video lesson 1 on Rockets
Video lesson 2 on how rockets work
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