[2] It was launched on December 10, 2008 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by an ILS Proton-M/Breeze-M vehicle.

[3] The satellite is built by Thales Alenia Space and is based on Spacebus-4000C4 bus.

[4] It is the largest Spacebus class satellite built to date (5561 kg).

Operating from 129° West geostationary orbit position, its 32 Ku band transponders will deliver high-definition and other TV services throughout North America.

The satellite delivers multiple independent spot beams in Ku band.