NASA is scheduled to launch its Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System [CYGNSS] spacecraft Dec. 12, the administration said Friday.

The satellite will make frequent measurements of ocean surface winds through the lifecycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The CYGNSS constellation includes eight microsatellite observatories that will measure surface winds in and near a hurricane’s inner core, including regions beneath the eyewall and inner rain bands that could not previously be measured from space.

The launch is slated for 8:24 a.m. EST at Kennedy Space Center. NASA Television will broadcast the launch.

During the one-hour window, which opens at 8:19 a.m., CYGNSS will take off aboard an Orbital Sciences ATK air-launched Pegasus XL launch vehicle, NASA said. The rocket is scheduled for deployment over the Atlantic from Orbital’s L-1011 carrier aircraft.