Commitments and Contingencies (Narrative) (Details) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Pre Closing Taxes Indemnification [Member] | Sale of SS/L [Member]
Contingencies And Commitments [Line Items]
Loss contingency accrual			$ (0.9)	$ (0.4)
ViaSat Lawsuit [Member] | Sale of SS/L [Member]
Contingencies And Commitments [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		$ 100.0
Lawsuit settlement initial payment, joint & several liability		40.0
Lawsuit settlement future payments, joint & several liability		$ 60.0	38.3	55.2
Lawsuit settlement installment number, joint and several liability		10
Lawsuit settlement amount of each installment, joint & several liability		$ 6.9
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
Obligation with joint and several liability arrangement, amount recognized				45.0
Obligation with joint and several liability amount payable by counterparty				55.0
Cumulative payments for legal settlements			29.2
Lawsuit settlement obligation carrying value			16.0	23.3
Globalstar do Brasil S.A. [Member]
Contingencies And Commitments [Line Items]
Loss contingency accrual			$ 0.9	$ 1.0
Subsequent Event [Member] | ViaSat Lawsuit [Member] | Sale of SS/L [Member]
Contingencies And Commitments [Line Items]
Payments for legal settlements	$ 2.8
Lawsuit settlement installments remaining	5
Lawsuit settlement, total amount outstanding installments	$ 14.0
Lawsuit settlement installment interest rate	3.25%