| Mission type | Communication | 
|---|---|
| Operator | Intelsat | 
| COSPAR ID | 1990-091A | 
| SATCAT no. | 20872 | 
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | SBS 6 | 
| Bus | HS-393 | 
| Manufacturer | Hughes | 
| Launch mass | 2,478 kg (5,463 lb) | 
| BOL mass | 1,484 kg (3,272 lb) | 
| Dimensions | 3.7 m × 10 m × 2.3 m (12.1 ft × 32.8 ft × 7.5 ft) with solar panels and antennas deployed. | 
| Power | 2.2 kW | 
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 22:58, October 12, 1990 | 
| Rocket | Ariane 44L | 
| Launch site | Kourou ELA-2 | 
| Contractor | Arianespace | 
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | placed in a graveyard orbit | 
| Deactivated | April 2009 | 
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric | 
| Regime | Inclined geosynchronous | 
| Semi-major axis | 42527 km | 
| Perigee | 36,127.3 km | 
| Apogee | 36,186.6 km | 
| Inclination | 7.3° | 
| Period | 1,454.7 minutes | 
| Epoch | 00:00:00 2016-08-17 | 
| Transponders | |
| Band | Ku band: 19 × 45 Mhz /> | 
| Bandwidth | 855 MHz | 
| Coverage area | Continental United States | 
| TWTA power | 41 Watts | 
SBS 6 was a geostationary communications satellite designed and manufactured by Hughes (now Boeing) on the HS-393 platform. It was originally ordered by Satellite Business Systems, which later sold it to Hughes Communications and was last used by Intelsat. It had a Ku band payload and operated on the 95°W longitude.
The spacecraft was designed and manufactured by Hughes on the HS-393 satellite bus. It had a launch mass of 2,478 kg (5,463 lb), a mass of 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) after reaching geostationary orbit and an 8-year design life. When stowed for launch, its dimensions were 3.4 m (11 ft) long and 3.7 m (12 ft) in diameter.
With its solar panels fully extended it spanned 10 m (33 ft). Its power system generated approximately 2,350 Watts of power thanks to two cylindrical solar panels. It also had a two 38Ah NiH2 batteries. These panels used K7 and K4-3/4 solar cells and were more than twice the number than on the HS-376.
Its propulsion system was composed of two R-4D LAE with a thrust of 490 N (110 lbf). It also used two axial and four radial 22 N (4.9 lbf) bipropellant thrusters for station keeping and attitude control. It included enough propellant for orbit circularization and 8 years of operation.