A hydrogen propellant valve in the Pratt & Whitney RL10 Centaur upper-stage engine caused the placement of two classified National Reconnaissance Office ocean surveillance spacecraft into the wrong orbit after launch from Cape Canaveral June 15, the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., now says.
Testing of the valve is ongoing as I write this.
My immediate question is why wasn't this testing done ahead of time?
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