SpaceX launches Transporter-11 mission to orbit

NEW YORK, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. private space company SpaceX launched the Transporter-11 mission to orbit on Friday.

The mission was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:56 a.m. local time (1856 GMT).

Transporter-11 was SpaceX's 11th dedicated smallsat rideshare mission, with 116 payloads on board, including CubeSats, MicroSats, and an orbital transfer vehicle carrying eight of those payloads, according to SpaceX.

Friday's liftoff was part of SpaceX's Rideshare program, which significantly increases access to space for small satellite operators around the world, ranging from Earth observation satellites to in-space manufacturing, robotics, and student research projects, the company said.

To date, SpaceX has launched more than 1,000 smallsats to space under the program.