It was the first Israeli civilian communications satellite, and was initially positioned at 4° West longitude in geostationary orbit.

[2] Its development was based on experience from Ofeq reconnaissance satellites in association with DASA and Alcatel Espace.

After its launch, it was raised to its final geostationary orbit by firing the apogee boost motor in phases.

After it reached the geostationary orbit, its antennae and solar panels were deployed and the satellite was placed in its allocated slot at 4° West longitude.

[5] Intelsat moved it over the Middle East, put it into an inclined orbit to conserve fuel, and rented its capacity to Tachyon Networks for U.S. military communications.