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The escape velocity defines how fast a rocket needs to fly so as to escape the strength of the earth's gravitational pull. Basically, if you can go fast enough, not everything that goes up has to come down!

The trick, then, is to get enough speed. The escape velocity of earth is 11 kilometers per second (7 miles per second). On top of that, you're trying to get a thousand-ton rocket to go that speed up into the sky. So to do this, the rocket needs to generate enough thrust to push itself into space. A tremendous feat!