Orbital Sciences Corp. received a contract from a joint venture of Panamsat Corp. and JSat Corp. to build the Horizons-2 satellite, Orbital announced Aug. 30.

Horizons-2, based on Orbital’s Star platform, will carry 20 Ku-band transponders and be placed at 74º West over the United States. Panamsat and JSat formed the Horizons-2 joint venture in June to provide digital video, high-definition television and Internet protocol-based services to broadband Internet and satellite newsgathering services.

Under the joint venture, the satellite operator will provide infrastructure in the North American market, the orbital slot, sales and teleports, while JSat will finance the satellite. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.