Rockets are able to lift off into space due to Newton's 3rd law of motion, which states that for every action force there is an equal and opposite reaction force. Satellites are objects that orbit other objects in space, such as planets, due to centripetal force keeping them in orbit around the larger object. Satellites do not fall back to Earth because the horizontal velocity of their orbit around the Earth is great enough to counteract gravitational pull, allowing them to remain in a continuous orbit.