Earnings Per Share (Narrative) (Details)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Percentage of ownership interest as a result of dilution upon the exercise of stock options	62.30%

Percentage of ownership interest as a result of dilution upon the exercise of stock options.

No definition available.

Name:	lorl_PercentageOfOwnershipInterestAsResultOfDilutionUponExerciseOfStockOptions
Namespace Prefix:	lorl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration