astrium, which had become part of airbus defence and space by the time of the satellite's launch, constructed ekspress am7, which was based on the eurostar 3000 satellite bus. the satellite has a mass of and a planned operational lifespan of 15 years. the satellite carried 62 transponders: 24 operating in the c band of the electromagnetic spectrum, 36 in the ku band and 2 in the l band.