Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Polar BEAR mission lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the 13th of November 1986. This launch date marked the beginning of the mission to study the dynamic environment surrounding the Earth.
The United States Air Force contracted Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory to build the necessary systems around the existing hardware. This collaboration created a unique hybrid of museum artifact and operational satellite.
The primary objective of the Polar BEAR mission was to investigate the communications interference caused by solar flares and auroral activity. The mission team positioned the satellite in a polar orbit to observe these phenomena as they interacted with the Earth's magnetic field at the poles.
The Polar BEAR satellite launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base. This launch site provided the necessary trajectory to reach the high latitudes required for the experiment.
The Polar BEAR mission used a museum satellite to prioritize budget constraints over the construction of a new spacecraft. This decision allowed the program to avoid the high costs associated with manufacturing a fresh satellite from scratch.