The satellite was designed and built in 3 1/2 years using streamlined program methodologies by TRW Space & Electronics, Redondo Beach, a subsidiary of TRW, Inc. for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Laser technology that might provide future spy satellites with a better way to transmit information to Earth will be tested from its position in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean. GeoLITE will also serve as an operational telecommunications satellite for the NRO using a conventional UHF communications package. Additional details of how the system will work, including location of ground stations and the orbital position of GeoLITE, remain classified.

The 635 kg (1400 lbm) satellite GeoLITE (Geosynchronous Lightweight Technology Experiment), an advanced technology demonstration satellite, is the first mission for TRW's T-310 satellite bus, a new lightweight, highly stable platform capable of a range of missions. TRW has system integration responsibility for GeoLITE, including the satellite development, integration and preparation for launch. The contract award was announced on July 10, 1998.  The US$77.8 million contract nearly doubled in cost to US$130 million, not including launch costs. Launch costs were not released by the NRO.

The T-310 bus is built of lightweight composite materials that allow for increased instrument weight and reduced launch costs. The T-310 modular bus design provides flexible capability for a variety of applications, including geostationary communications and weather observation missions, as well as planetary missions. The design features common subsystems scalable to the mission-specific needs. Instrument payloads can be attached on a “mix and match” basis without changes in the overall design or subsystem support requirements. The GeoLITE mission is expected to last nine years. The bus provides 1.2 kW EOL (End of Life) electric power. The satellite is based on previous TRW spacecraft designs, including NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer Earth Probe (TOMS) and China's ROCSAT-1 satellite.