At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Skid Strip the crew of the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft pose for a photograph. From the left are: pilot Ebb Harris, Pilot Bob Gordon, chief pilot Don Walter, flight engineer Bob Taylor, retired chief pilot Bill Weaver and flight engineer Mark Kenny. The Stargazer is being prepared to launch NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, spacecraft. The eight micro satellites are aboard an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket strapped to the underside of the Stargazer. CYGNSS is scheduled for its airborne launch aboard the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip on Dec. 12. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes. Photo credit: NASA/Bill White