It was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 119° West, from where it is used to provide high-definition television direct broadcasting services to the United States.

[1] It is equipped with 32 Ku band transponders,[2] and at launch it had a mass of 4,026 kilograms (8,876 lb), with an expected operational lifespan of around 12 years.

This incorporated a disposal plan based on a similar boosting, in the knowledge that the full lifetime available would be limited by the fuel available, and in having an adequate reserve available through the satellite's remaining working life.

[5] In February 2022, a technical problem was discovered in that a scheduled thruster operation had not produced the expected change in orbit.

[5] In October 2023 its operator, DISH, was fined $150,000 by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for failing to de-orbit the satellite according to the terms of its license.