AsiaSat 2 was a Hong Kong communications satellite, which was owned, and initially operated, by the Hong Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company. It was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 17° East of the Greenwich Meridian, on lease to Spacecom. It spent most of its operational life at 100.5° East, from where it was used to provide fixed satellite services, including broadcasting, audio, and data transmission, to Asia and the Pacific Ocean.

AsiaSat 2 was built by Astro Space, which by the time of its launch had become part of Lockheed Martin. It is based on the AS-7000 satellite bus. At launch, it had a mass of 3,379 kilograms and a design life of thirteen years. It carries twenty-four G/H band and nine J band transponders.