It was originally ordered by Space Communications Corporation (SCC), which later merged into the SKY Perfect JSAT Group.
[5] It was used for video distribution, news gathering, remote publishing and high definition TV service to the main islands of Japan and Okinawa.
[5][10] Its propulsion system included an R-4D-11 liquid apogee engine (LAE) with a thrust of 490 N (110 lbf).
[5] Space Communications Corporation (SCC) was founded in 1985, the same year as the original companies that later formed JSAT.
[5][10] On 26 February 1992 at 23:58:10 UTC Superbird-B1, the fourth private communications satellite of Japan to orbit, was launched aboard an Ariane 44L along Arabsat-1C.