What does Polar BEAR stand for in the 1986 space mission?
Polar BEAR stands for Polar Beacon Experiment and Auroral Research. It was a U.S. military space mission launched on the 13th of November 1986 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Questions about Polar bear
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who built the Polar BEAR satellite?
The Polar BEAR satellite was built by Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) for the U.S. Air Force.
Why was a museum satellite used for the Polar BEAR mission?
To save money, the Air Force retrieved a satellite from the National Air and Space Museum, where it had been on display for almost a decade, rather than building an entirely new spacecraft.
What was the scientific purpose of the Polar BEAR mission?
Polar BEAR was designed to investigate communications interference caused by solar flares and auroral activity in high-latitude regions. It continued the work of the earlier HILAT (High Latitude) mission.
Where was Polar BEAR launched from and when?
Polar BEAR was launched on the 13th of November 1986 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
What other names or designations did the Polar BEAR spacecraft have?
Polar BEAR was also known as STP P87-1 and STP P87-A, placing it within the U.S. military's Space Test Program catalog.