Story highlights The satellites will be able to see through clouds and heavy rain

The goal is to improve hurricane forecasts

(CNN) It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie -- a plane carries a rocket high in the sky, releases it, and the rocket fires into space, later deploying mini satellites that will eventually help improve hurricane forecasts.

The scenario took place in real life Thursday morning, when an aircraft similar to a commercial airliner carried a Pegasus rocket to about 40,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean east of Cape Canaveral and released it. Boosters then propelled the rocket into space, where it deployed eight small satellites into orbit in a first-of-its-kind mission to provide better hurricane predictions back here on Earth.

Eight tiny satellites have launched, via rocket, from a plane! The #CYGNSS hurricane mission is headed to orbit. https://t.co/OyGnxA3xJl pic.twitter.com/cNhpmY30M1 — CNN Weather Center (@CNNweather) December 15, 2016

The satellites will work in tandem to measure near-surface ocean winds in hurricanes, typhoons and other tropical cyclones around the globe.

The goal of the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS , is to improve hurricane intensity forecasts -- a task that is more difficult and less accurate than forecasting the path a storm will take.

The difficulty comes from the lack of wind observations in the ocean. Meteorologists know where the storms are because they are constantly being monitored by satellites that can see the location of the clouds and rain from the storms, but until now, they couldn't see the winds underneath the storm's clouds.

JUST WATCHED Your weather forecast will look better soon thanks to this new satellite Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Your weather forecast will look better soon thanks to this new satellite 02:18

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