v3.3.1.900

Employee Benefit Plans - 401(k) Employee Savings Plans (Details) - USD ($)		12 Months Ended
	Oct. 23, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
EchoStar 401(k) Plan
Employee benefit plans
Contribution limit per employee, as a percentage of eligible compensation		75.00%
Maximum annual contribution per employee under 401(k) plan		$ 18,000
Maximum annual catch-up contribution		$ 24,000
Employer matching contribution as a percentage of voluntary employee contributions under 401(k) plan (as a percent)		50.00%
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 50% by employer		6.00%
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100% by employer		3.00%
Employer maximum annual contribution per employee under 401(k) plan		$ 7,500
Vesting percentage of matching contributions to eligible employees per year		20.00%
Vesting percentage of matching contributions to eligible employees after specified period of service		100.00%
Eligibility for employer matching contributions, period of service		5 years
Matching contributions made by the company during the year		$ 7,400,000	$ 6,800,000	$ 6,100,000
Roth 401(k) Plan
Employee benefit plans
Contribution limit per employee, as a percentage of eligible compensation	75.00%
Class A common stock | EchoStar 401(k) Plan
Employee benefit plans
Discretionary contributions, net of forfeitures, fair value, under 401(k) plan		$ 10,400,000	$ 10,200,000	$ 10,300,000
Discretionary contributions, Shares, under 401(k) plan		204,000	207,000	139,000

X

- Definition

The period of service required for eligibility for matching contributions by the employer.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	sats_DefinedContributionPlanEligiblePeriodOfServiceForMatchingContribution
Namespace Prefix:	sats_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Represents the first level of employee contributions (percentage of compensation) which are matched by the employer.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	sats_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerMatchEmployeeContributionLevelOne
Namespace Prefix:	sats_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Represents the second level of employee contributions (percentage of compensation) which are matched by the employer.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	sats_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerMatchEmployeeContributionLevelTwo
Namespace Prefix:	sats_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Percentage of employer's matching contributions to a defined contribution plan that vests in a given year after a specified period of service.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	sats_DefinedContributionPlanEmployersMatchingContributionAnnualVestingPercentageAfterSpecifiedPeriodOfService
Namespace Prefix:	sats_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Represents the annual dollar limit an employee may contribute to a defined contribution retirement plans.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	sats_DefinedContributionPlanMaximumAnnualCatchUpContributionByEmployeeAmount
Namespace Prefix:	sats_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Represents the annual dollar limit an employee may contribute to a defined contribution retirement plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	sats_DefinedContributionPlanMaximumAnnualContributionByEmployeeAmount
Namespace Prefix:	sats_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Maximum percentage of employee gross pay, by the terms of the plan, that the employee may contribute to a defined contribution plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	sats_DefinedContributionPlanMaximumAnnualContributionEmployeePercentOfEligibleCompensation
Namespace Prefix:	sats_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

The amount of the cost recognized during the period for defined contribution plans.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 70
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6414718&loc=d3e28014-114942

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanCostRecognized
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanDisclosureLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Amount of discretionary contributions made by an employer to a defined contribution plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerDiscretionaryContributionAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Percentage employer matches of the employee's percentage contribution matched.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerMatchingContributionPercentOfMatch
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Percentage of employer's matching contributions to a defined contribution plan that vests in a given year.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployersMatchingContributionAnnualVestingPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Maximum amount the employee may contribute to a defined contribution plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanMaximumAnnualContributionsPerEmployeeAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Number of shares issued during the period to an employee benefit plan, such as a defined contribution or defined benefit plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_StockIssuedDuringPeriodSharesEmployeeBenefitPlan
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanNameAxis=sats_DefinedContributionPlanEchoStar401KPlanMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanNameAxis=sats_DefinedContributionPlanRoth401kPlanMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis=us-gaap_CommonClassAMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: