Props don't work in space because props push air to create thrust.
We use rockets in space because there is no air in space. I would use a rocket to fly around in space.
Rockets burn fuel and push it out a nozzle to create thrust. To burn anything you need oxygen. In space we mix fuel (kerosene) with liquid oxygen so the fuel will burn. Even gasoline won't burn without oxygen.
In space you need something that doesn't need air or you need to bring your own air in the form of LOX (liquid oxygen). You can also use ions or catch the solar wind in a big sail but today, kerosene mixed with LOX is the best we have.
This is because to fly around in space you have to do MUCH more than just go up. Space is only <> 30+ miles away. But just flying out of the Earth's atmosphere, doesn't get you out of Earth's gravity well. Just getting into space doesn't make you weightless. To be weightless, you have to achieve a free fall orbit.
Orbits mean you have to go really really fast parallel to the Earth's surface. This is why the SpaceX Falcon 9 doesn't fly straight up. It makes what we call a gravity turn. To get an orbit you need to be going super fast, beyond the limits of the atmosphere. This also means you need radio that can work all the way around the Earth and enough fuel to generate that much thrust.
Basically an orbit means you are going so fast, you never fall back to the ground, you just keep falling and missing the Earth.
Here is something to noodle on. There are no straight lines in space. You transition from one orbit (circle) to another. But no matter how far you go within the observable universe, you always orbit something.... you are always traveling in a circle. Such is the human condition.
What David did was very cool. But until we have a huge power revolution it's about the best we can do with current tech. You can kiss space, but then you have to come right back down (re-enter) until we have the radio that can go around the world and enough power to manage an orbit.