It was launched into a geosynchronous orbit at 22:43 GMT on 18 August 2008,[1] by a Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced carrier rocket.

It is currently located at 97.65° West longitude, providing coverage of the Americas.

Like the earlier Inmarsat-4 F1 and F2 satellites, Inmarsat-4 F3 was constructed by EADS Astrium, using a Eurostar E3000 bus.

It has a mass of 5,960 kilograms, and is expected to operate for 13 years.

[3] It was originally slated for launch using an Atlas V 531, but was transferred to Proton due to a large backlog of Atlas launches.