The NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program Office in December 2007 selected the BSS-601HP for its third generation TDRS spacecraft, adding the two 15-foot (4.5m) diameter steerable antennas.

[2] The Boeing-601 model was Hughes’ first major design and development for a communications satellite with three-axis, or body stabilization.

All previous Hughes satellite models (HS-376) had been cylindrical spacecraft that were spin-stabilized at 50 revolutions per minute.

The new satellite's first official public presentation took place at the Telecom 87 conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The first module houses the propulsion system, batteries, and electronics for the bus, and bears launch vehicle loads.

[4][5] An unconfirmed number of 601s launched prior to August 1997 have a design flaw in their SCPs, where a tin-plated relay forms crystalline "whiskers" under certain specific conditions.