OTD in Space – June 20: Challenger Launches Palapa B Satellite

On June 20, 1983, the crew of the space shuttle Challenger – including America's first space woman Sally Ride -- deployed an Indonesian communications satellite called Palapa-B1 into orbit. Palapa is a series of satellites owned by the Indonesian telecommunication company Telkom. All nine satellites were launched by the U.S., starting with the first in 1976. This made Indonesia become the first developing county to operate its own domestic satellite system. Palapa satellites now provide communication to more than 6,000 islands in Indonesia.