 The first of eight Intelsat III satellites to be launched, Intelsat III F-1 was built by TRW.It was a spacecraft equipped with two transponders to be powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 183 watts of power.It had a design life of five years and carried an SVM-2 apogee motor for propulsion..

Intelsat III F-1 was launched on the maiden flight of the Delta M rocket, flying from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.