Eli5: why do space rockets have all the cables still connected during the first seconds of lift off?
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In the event of an engine failure or other type of abort at liftoff they still want the cables and hoses attached so that they can safely shut it down and pump out the fuel rendering it safe for people to enter the launch ramp. Thes aborts can happen right at liftoff so the cables needs to be attached during the liftoff and then disconnect right after this.
A funny accident was with the Redstone-Mercury 1 launch where there was actually a fault with the length of the cables and the sequence they were disconnected from the rocket which falsely triggerd an abort when the rocket was only inches off the pad. The rocket did land again without damage. But since the cables were disconnected there was no way to control the rocket from a distance. It was therefore sitting on the launch pad full of fuel pressurized in its tanks and nobody could do anything about it. To make matters worse the capsule, sensing the engine shutdown and the short freefall ran through the rest of the launch and landing sequency including disconnecting from the rocket and deploying its parachute, and senisng a problem with the main parachute it deployed the spare parachute as well. So now there was a space rocket full of fuel on the launch pad and two dangling parachutes from its top that could catch the wind at any time, and the weather forecasts predicted winds.
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