Organization and Principal Business (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Nov. 07, 2012	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2012	Nov. 02, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013	Jan. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014
Organization And Principal Business [Line Items]
Date of incorporation		Jun. 24, 2005
Date of emergence from bankruptcy proceedings		Nov. 21, 2005
Land Note for sale of real estate of disposal group		$ 33,667,000				$ 101,000,000
Receipt of principal, Land Note - discontinued operations		67,333,000
Special distribution record date	Nov. 19, 2012
Special distribution declared per share	$ 29.00		$ 29.00
Aggregate special distribution	892,100,000
Special distribution paid date	Dec. 04, 2012
Telesat Holdco [Member]
Organization And Principal Business [Line Items]
Economic interest in affiliates		62.80%
Voting interest in affiliate		32.70%
Sale of SS/L [Member]
Organization And Principal Business [Line Items]
Disposal segment, sale date				Nov. 02, 2012
Date purchase agreement entered into				Jun. 26, 2012
Date of first modification of purchase agreement				Oct. 30, 2012
Date of second modification of purchase agreement				Mar. 28, 2013
Cash proceeds from sale of SS/L				967,900,000
Amortization period of Land Note				3 years
Land Note for sale of real estate of disposal group				101,000,000
Transaction costs related to sale of SS/L				35,200,000
Payment towards contingency pursuant to purchase agreement					6,500,000
Land Note interest rate						1.00%
Original due date of first installment of promissory note						Mar. 31, 2013
Revised due date of first installment of promissory note						Mar. 31, 2014
Principal amount of first installment of promissory note						33,700,000
Original interest rate of first installment of promissory note						1.00%
Revised interest rate of first installment of promissory note						1.50%
Receipt of principal, Land Note - discontinued operations		67,300,000
Land Note proceeds collection date		Mar. 31, 2014
Land Note amount last insallment		33,700,000
Land Note due date last installment		Mar. 31, 2015
ViaSat Lawsuit [Member] | Sale of SS/L [Member]
Organization And Principal Business [Line Items]
Settlement agreement date								September 2014
Settlement agreement, plaintiff's name								ViaSat, Inc.
Settlement agreement, counterparty's name								SS/L
Lawsuit settlement amount, joint & several liability								100,000,000
Lawsuit settlement initial payment, joint & several liability								40,000,000
Lawsuit settlement future payments, joint & several liability		55,200,000						60,000,000
Lawsuit settlement installment number, joint and several liability								10
Lawsuit settlement installment frequency, joint & several liability								quarterly
Lawsuit settlement installment start date, joint & several liability								Oct. 15, 2014
Lawsuit settlement installment end date, joint & several liability								Jan. 15, 2017
Lawsuit settlement amount of each installment, joint & several liability								6,900,000
Obligation with joint and several liability arrangement, amount recognized		45,000,000
Obligation with joint and several liability amount payable by counterparty		55,000,000
Payments for legal settlements		20,800,000					2,800,000
Lawsuit settlement installments remaining							8
Lawsuit settlement, total amount outstanding installments							$ 22,500,000
Lawsuit settlement installment discount rate							3.25%