[1] It massed 5,892 kg (12,990 lb) at launch, had a power production capacity of 15 kW and a 15-year design life.

[5] During 2012, RSCC organized a competition among EADS Astrium (later Airbus Defense and Space), Thales Alenia Space, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) and JSC Information Satellite Systems (ISS Reshetnev) to build Ekspress-AMU1.

EUTELSAT participated from the selection committee since they intended to lease capacity on board the satellite.

[7] Airbus bid, while slightly more expensive than Thales, promised to deliver the satellite seven months earlier.

[11] On 10 February 2016, signals from EUTELSAT 36A were switched to Ekspress-AMU1 marking the final commissioning of the satellite into service.