WASHINGTON - (AP) Hurricane Noel is giving researchers their first chance to test out a new pilotless hurricane research aircraft. The remotely controlled plane was launched Friday afternoon from Wallops Island, Va., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

The craft will fly into the storm at low level to measure its winds, which have been averaging about 80 mph. The winds will test the mettle of the aircraft's sensors and data delivery capabilities, the agency said.

The aircraft is 5 feet long with a wing span of 10 feet and was expected to penetrate the hurricane eyewall or storm center at about 10 p.m. tonight during its anticipated 20 hour long mission.

"Unmanned flights at very low altitude are important since they give us unique insights and continuous observations in a region of the storm where the ocean's energy is directly transferred to the atmosphere just above. Attempting this type of research flight with our hurricane hunter aircraft would risk the lives of our crew and scientists," said Joe Cione, hurricane researcher at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, and project manager for the Aerosonde field study.

Cione will monitor the aircraft's progress from NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The agency said its scientists hope using unmanned aircraft will help fill a gap in near-surface data. The data have been hard to gather because of the safety risks of low-level flight.