Organization and Principal Business	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Organization and Principal Business [Abstract]
Organization and Principal Business	1. Organization and Principal Business Loral Space & Communications Inc., together with its subsidiaries (“Loral,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us”) is a leading satellite communications company engaged, through our ownership interests in affiliates, in satellite-based communications services. Recent Developments On November 23, 2020, Loral entered into a Transaction Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended from time to time, the “Transaction Agreement”) with Telesat Canada, a Canadian corporation (“Telesat”), Telesat Partnership LP, a limited partnership formed under the laws of Ontario, Canada (“Telesat Partnership”), Telesat Corporation, a newly formed corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada and the sole general partner of Telesat Partnership (“Telesat Corporation”), Telesat CanHold Corporation, a corporation incorporated under the laws of British Columbia, Canada and wholly owned subsidiary of Telesat Partnership (“Telesat CanHoldco”), Lion Combination Sub Corporation, a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”), Public Sector Pension Investment Board, a Canadian Crown corporation (“PSP”), and Red Isle Private Investments Inc., a Canadian corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of PSP (“Red Isle”), under which Merger Sub will merge with and into Loral, with Loral surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Telesat Partnership (the “Merger”), and Loral stockholders receiving common shares of Telesat Corporation and/or units of Telesat Partnership that will be exchangeable for common shares of Telesat Corporation (the “Transaction”). The Transaction Agreement contains a number of customary conditions that must be fulfilled to complete the Transaction, including (i) approval of (A) a majority of the outstanding Loral voting common stock and (B) a majority of the outstanding Loral voting common stock not held by MHR, PSP, any other party to the Transaction Agreement or certain of their respective affiliates; (ii) the parties having obtained certain regulatory consents and approvals; (iii) no legal proceedings having been commenced that would enjoin or prohibit the consummation of the Transaction; (iv) the listing of the Class A and Class B shares of Telesat Corporation on a U.S. securities exchange; (v) no “Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in the Transaction Agreement) having occurred; (vi) Telesat remaining in good standing with respect to its material debt obligations; (vii) the accuracy of certain representations (subject to certain qualifications as to materiality) and material performance of certain covenants by the parties, subject to specified exceptions; (viii) effectiveness of the registration statement on Form F-4 and the issuance of a receipt for each of the Canadian preliminary and final prospectuses in respect of the Transaction; (ix) no U.S., Canadian or Spanish governmental agency having commenced civil or criminal proceeding against Loral alleging that any member of the “Loral Group” has criminally violated any law, and no member of the “Loral Group” having been indicted or convicted for, or plead nolo contendere to, any such alleged criminal violation; (x) Loral remaining solvent and not having entered into any bankruptcy or related proceeding; and (xi) the delivery by the parties of certain closing deliverables. If the parties have confirmed that all the conditions are satisfied or waived (other than those conditions that by their terms are to be satisfied at the closing of the Transaction (the “Closing”), but which conditions are capable of being satisfied at the Closing), then PSP and Loral will each have the right to extend the Closing for any number of periods of up to 30 days each and no longer than 120 days in the aggregate, from the date on which the Closing otherwise would have occurred. If the Closing is extended, the Closing will occur on the first two consecutive business days commencing on the fifth business day after the expiration of the final extension period on which the conditions are satisfied or waived (other than the conditions (i) with respect to no “Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in the Transaction Agreement) having occurred, (ii) that by their terms are to be satisfied at the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver of such conditions at the Closing and (iii) if PSP extends the Closing, with respect to a civil or criminal legal proceeding alleging that Loral or any of its subsidiaries (excluding XTAR, LLC (“XTAR”) and Globalstar de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (“GdM”) and their subsidiaries), has criminally violated a law). Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions to Closing and any extensions described above, we expect to complete the Transaction in the third quarter of 2021. Upon satisfaction of the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Transaction Agreement, the Transaction will result in the current stockholders of Loral, PSP and the other shareholders in Telesat (principally current or former management of Telesat) owning approximately the same percentage of equity in Telesat indirectly through Telesat Corporation and/or Telesat Partnership as they currently hold (indirectly in the case of Loral stockholders and PSP) in Telesat, Telesat Corporation becoming the publicly traded general partner of Telesat Partnership and Telesat Partnership indirectly owning all of the economic interests in Telesat, except to the extent that the other shareholders in Telesat elect to retain their direct interest in Telesat. The Transaction Agreement provides certain termination rights for both Loral and PSP and further provides that, in certain circumstances, Loral may be required to pay to Red Isle a termination fee of $6,550,000 or $22,910,000, or to pay to PSP a “breach” fee of $40,000,000, in each case as provided in the Transaction Agreement. Expenses related to the Transaction included in other expense in our statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $10.2 million and $4.0 million, respectively. Description of Business Loral has one operating segment consisting of satellite-based communications services. Loral participates in satellite services operations primarily through its ownership interest in Telesat, a leading global satellite operator. Loral holds a 62.6% economic interest and a 32.6% voting interest in Telesat. We use the equity method of accounting for our ownership interest in Telesat (see Note 5). Telesat owns and leases a satellite fleet that operates in geostationary earth orbit approximately 22,000 miles above the equator. In this orbit, satellites remain in a fixed position relative to points on the earth’s surface and provide reliable, high-bandwidth services anywhere in their coverage areas, serving as the backbone for many forms of telecommunications. Telesat is also developing Telesat Lightspeed, a global constellation of low earth orbit (“LEO”) satellites. LEO satellites operate in a circular orbit around the earth with an altitude typically between 500 and 870 miles. Unlike geostationary orbit satellites that operate in a fixed orbital location above the equator, LEO satellites travel around the earth at high velocities requiring antennas on the ground to track their movement. LEO satellite systems have the potential to offer a number of advantages over geostationary orbit satellites to meet growing requirements for broadband services, both consumer and commercial, by providing increased data speeds and capacity, global coverage, and latency on par with, or potentially better than, terrestrial services.

Organization and Principal Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Organization and Principal Business [Abstract]

1. Organization and Principal Business

Loral Space & Communications Inc., together with its subsidiaries (“Loral,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us”) is a leading satellite communications company engaged, through our ownership interests in affiliates, in satellite-based communications services.

Recent Developments

On November 23, 2020, Loral entered into a Transaction Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended from time to time, the “Transaction Agreement”) with Telesat Canada, a Canadian corporation (“Telesat”), Telesat Partnership LP, a limited partnership formed under the laws of Ontario, Canada (“Telesat Partnership”), Telesat Corporation, a newly formed corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada and the sole general partner of Telesat Partnership (“Telesat Corporation”), Telesat CanHold Corporation, a corporation incorporated under the laws of British Columbia, Canada and wholly owned subsidiary of Telesat Partnership (“Telesat CanHoldco”), Lion Combination Sub Corporation, a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”), Public Sector Pension Investment Board, a Canadian Crown corporation (“PSP”), and Red Isle Private Investments Inc., a Canadian corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of PSP (“Red Isle”), under which Merger Sub will merge with and into Loral, with Loral surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Telesat Partnership (the “Merger”), and Loral stockholders receiving common shares of Telesat Corporation and/or units of Telesat Partnership that will be exchangeable for common shares of Telesat Corporation (the “Transaction”).

The Transaction Agreement contains a number of customary conditions that must be fulfilled to complete the Transaction, including (i) approval of (A) a majority of the outstanding Loral voting common stock and (B) a majority of the outstanding Loral voting common stock not held by MHR, PSP, any other party to the Transaction Agreement or certain of their respective affiliates; (ii) the parties having obtained certain regulatory consents and approvals; (iii) no legal proceedings having been commenced that would enjoin or prohibit the consummation of the Transaction; (iv) the listing of the Class A and Class B shares of Telesat Corporation on a U.S. securities exchange; (v) no “Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in the Transaction Agreement) having occurred; (vi) Telesat remaining in good standing with respect to its material debt obligations; (vii) the accuracy of certain representations (subject to certain qualifications as to materiality) and material performance of certain covenants by the parties, subject to specified exceptions; (viii) effectiveness of the registration statement on Form F-4 and the issuance of a receipt for each of the Canadian preliminary and final prospectuses in respect of the Transaction; (ix) no U.S., Canadian or Spanish governmental agency having commenced civil or criminal proceeding against Loral alleging that any member of the “Loral Group” has criminally violated any law, and no member of the “Loral Group” having been indicted or convicted for, or plead nolo contendere to, any such alleged criminal violation; (x) Loral remaining solvent and not having entered into any bankruptcy or related proceeding; and (xi) the delivery by the parties of certain closing deliverables. If the parties have confirmed that all the conditions are satisfied or waived (other than those conditions that by their terms are to be satisfied at the closing of the Transaction (the “Closing”), but which conditions are capable of being satisfied at the Closing), then PSP and Loral will each have the right to extend the Closing for any number of periods of up to 30 days each and no longer than 120 days in the aggregate, from the date on which the Closing otherwise would have occurred. If the Closing is extended, the Closing will occur on the first two consecutive business days commencing on the fifth business day after the expiration of the final extension period on which the conditions are satisfied or waived (other than the conditions (i) with respect to no “Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in the Transaction Agreement) having occurred, (ii) that by their terms are to be satisfied at the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver of such conditions at the Closing and (iii) if PSP extends the Closing, with respect to a civil or criminal legal proceeding alleging that Loral or any of its subsidiaries (excluding XTAR, LLC (“XTAR”) and Globalstar de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (“GdM”) and their subsidiaries), has criminally violated a law). Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions to Closing and any extensions described above, we expect to complete the Transaction in the third quarter of 2021.

Upon satisfaction of the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Transaction Agreement, the Transaction will result in the current stockholders of Loral, PSP and the other shareholders in Telesat (principally current or former management of Telesat) owning approximately the same percentage of equity in Telesat indirectly through Telesat Corporation and/or Telesat Partnership as they currently hold (indirectly in the case of Loral stockholders and PSP) in Telesat, Telesat Corporation becoming the publicly traded general partner of Telesat Partnership and Telesat Partnership indirectly owning all of the economic interests in Telesat, except to the extent that the other shareholders in Telesat elect to retain their direct interest in Telesat.

The Transaction Agreement provides certain termination rights for both Loral and PSP and further provides that, in certain circumstances, Loral may be required to pay to Red Isle a termination fee of $6,550,000 or $22,910,000, or to pay to PSP a “breach” fee of $40,000,000, in each case as provided in the Transaction Agreement.

Expenses related to the Transaction included in other expense in our statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $10.2 million and $4.0 million, respectively.

Description of Business

Loral has one operating segment consisting of satellite-based communications services. Loral participates in satellite services operations primarily through its ownership interest in Telesat, a leading global satellite operator. Loral holds a 62.6% economic interest and a 32.6% voting interest in Telesat. We use the equity method of accounting for our ownership interest in Telesat (see Note 5).

Telesat owns and leases a satellite fleet that operates in geostationary earth orbit approximately 22,000 miles above the equator. In this orbit, satellites remain in a fixed position relative to points on the earth’s surface and provide reliable, high-bandwidth services anywhere in their coverage areas, serving as the backbone for many forms of telecommunications. Telesat is also developing Telesat Lightspeed, a global constellation of low earth orbit (“LEO”) satellites. LEO satellites operate in a circular orbit around the earth with an altitude typically between 500 and 870 miles. Unlike geostationary orbit satellites that operate in a fixed orbital location above the equator, LEO satellites travel around the earth at high velocities requiring antennas on the ground to track their movement. LEO satellite systems have the potential to offer a number of advantages over geostationary orbit satellites to meet growing requirements for broadband services, both consumer and commercial, by providing increased data speeds and capacity, global coverage, and latency on par with, or potentially better than, terrestrial services.