In response to the growing demand of the regional market, Sinosat was adding a new member, Xinnuo 2 (Sinosat 2), to its fleet of satellites. With 24 Ku-band transponders on board, Sinosat-2 was the first spacecraft based on the Chinese high-power satellite platform, known as DFH-4.

To ensure the time schedule and performance requirements, the telecommunication payload of the Sinosat-2 payload was imported from Alcatel.

Sinosat-2 was to be delivered in the first half of 2005. Launched in October 2006, the lifetime of Sinosat-2 was to be 15 years. The new satellite will serve the need for TV broadcasting, DirectPC, and broadband multimedia systems in China as well as the neighboring areas.

Reportedly the satellite failed to deploy its solar arrays after reaching geostationary orbit.