The Artemis and the Space Shuttle has two solid rocket boosters on the side. When the rocket gets high enough, they're done. We can't have them trying to work with there is little air because what's the point of that? So, you get to use the free air to launch the rocket at its lowest level through the atmosphere with plenty of oxygen. And anything that happens after that needs its own oxidizer.
What is the rocket equation? How do airplanes fly? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic Chuck Nice go through some things you thought you knew about how airplanes fly, x-rays, and how to fuel a rocket.
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Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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