It was launched on September 28, 2003, from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana on board the Ariane rocket.

It was designed for providing high-speed communication, Television, VSAT & Tele-education services and was an important landmark in Indian Space Programme.

In April 2014, almost eleven years after being launched, the satellite ran out of oxidizer and a few days later, was decommissioned by the ISRO.

It has 24 C-band transponders, having India beam coverage providing an Edge Of Coverage-Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EOC-EIRP) of 38.5 dBW and 12 upper extended C-band transponders having India beam coverage providing an EOC-EIRP of 38 dBW.

The ISRO had apparently expected that the satellite, positioned at 55 degrees E longitude, would last a few more months and that it would be smoothly replaced with GSAT-16.