Financial Instruments, Derivative Instruments And Hedging (Schedule Of Unhedged Foreign Currency Transactions) (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2012 Japanese Yen [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Japanese Yen [Member] JPY (¥)	Mar. 31, 2012 Euros [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Euros [Member] EUR (€)
Trading Activity, Gains and Losses, Net [Line Items]
Future revenues denominated in foreign currencies not hedged	$ 521	¥ 43,175	$ 23,328	€ 17,478
Future expenditures denominated in foreign currencies not hedged	$ 38,654	¥ 3,204,959	$ 5,095	€ 3,817

Future expenditures denominated in foreign currency contracts that were unhedged as of the balance sheet date.

No definition available.

Name:	lorl_FutureExpenditureUnhedgedForeignCurrencyContracts
Namespace Prefix:	lorl_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant