Orbital Sciences Corp. said Nov. 14 that Measat Satellite Systems of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, awarded Orbital a contract to build the Measat-1R commercial communications satellite. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The satellite, which will be based on Orbital’s Star satellite platform, is expected to be launched in September 2007 and will reside at 91.5 degrees East. Measat-1R will carry 12 Ku-band and 12 C-band active transponders along with three antennas. The satellite will provide C-band service throughout Southeast Asia region with a global beam, while the Ku-band beams will serve direct-to-home broadcasting markets in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The contract is Orbital’s fourth commercial satellite manufacturing contract in 2005, joining contracts from Panamsat, the Panamsat/JSAT Corp. joint venture and Telenor Broadcast Services.