Constructed by ISRO, it is based around the I-2K satellite bus, and has a dry mass of 851 kilograms (1,876 lb).

[4] The satellite carries six Ku-band and six Extended C-band transponders to provide coverage of the whole of India.

Fibre optic gyro, active pixel Sun sensor, round type bolometer and field programmable gate array based Earth sensors and thermal control coating experiments are new technologies which were flown as experiments in the satellite.

[4] A launch attempt on 19 August 2013, with a planned liftoff at 11:20 UTC (4:50 pm local time),[7][8] was scrubbed following a reported second stage fuel leak.

[14] The launch marked the first successful flight test of the CE-7.5, India's first cryogenically fuelled rocket engine.