Commitments and Contingencies (Details Textual) (USD $)	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Commitments And Contingencies (Textual) [Abstract]
Total	$ 430,713,000	$ 417,496,000
Unlaunched	192,646,000	181,489,000
Intelsat [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies (Textual) [Abstract]
Total	18,000,000
Estimated loss of Orbitals	8,000,000
Assets held for sale [Member] | Orbital Receivables [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies (Textual) [Abstract]
Orbitals receivable, net of fair value adjustment	365,000,000
Fresh Start fair value adjustment, orbital, net	16,000,000
Gross orbital receivables on launched satellites	227,000,000
Unlaunched	$ 154,000,000