AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) – A physics experiment produced by the Air Force Academy is being carried to the International Space Station on the shuttle Endeavor.

Endeavor lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday morning.

The Air Force Academy’s experiment is called Canary. It will investigate interactions of approaching spacecraft with the background plasma environment around the station.

The experiment is a cube that will be attached to the outside of the station.

Endeavor’s pilot on this mission is Gregory H. Johnson, a 1984 Air Force Academy graduate and a retired colonel.

This is Endeavor’s final flight, and it’s the second-to-last flight for the shuttle program.

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