Indonesia Gets Word From Reagan: U.S. Will Launch Satellite : Indonesia Given Reagan Assurance on Satellite Launch

President Reagan assured Indonesian President Suharto by letter today that the United States will provide an unmanned Delta rocket to launch a vital communications satellite for Indonesia, probably early next year, a U.S. Embassy statement said.

The Indonesian satellite was scheduled to be launched from the U.S. space shuttle last month, but the mission was canceled as a result of the Jan. 28 space shuttle Challenger disaster.

The crew of the canceled mission was to have included Indonesia’s first astronaut, Dr. Pratiwi Sudarmono, 32, a genetic research scientist. She was to have helped with the launch of the satellite and talked to Suharto and the Indonesian people through a live radio link-up.