Stretched Launch and Docking

[krpalmer]

Opening up my newspaper this morning, I saw a picture in it of a Falcon 9 rocket blasting off, this one with a commercial satellite instead of a Dragon capsule on top. The rocket looked a bit different from the previous ones in other ways, and in looking up information on the launch I noticed it was an upgraded model, not distinguished by a "B" added to its name but with a version number, reminiscent of modern software. In looking that up, I also noticed that the "Cygnus" resupply ship launched last week had managed to dock with the space station after an initial delay, adding that much more variety to the eclectic group of space station resupply craft.