Amount of accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization for physical assets used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 360

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (c)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.14)

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Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 14

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- Definition

The amount of expense recognized in the current period that reflects the allocation of the cost of tangible assets over the assets' useful lives. Includes production and non-production related depreciation.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 230

-SubTopic 10

-Section 45

-Paragraph 28

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- Definition

Amount before accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization of physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale. Examples include, but are not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, and furniture and fixtures.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 360

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (b)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

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-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.13)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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Amount after accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization of physical assets used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include, but are not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, and furniture and fixtures.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 360

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

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-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.13)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 13

-Subparagraph a

-Article 5

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 03

-Paragraph 8

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Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

+ References

No definition available.

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Property and Equipment (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Property and Equipment
Total property and equipment	$ 3,124.1us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentGross		$ 3,270.2us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentGross
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(985.8)		(1,095.5)
Property and equipment, net	2,138.3us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet		2,174.7us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet
Depreciation expense	64.7us-gaap_Depreciation	55.1us-gaap_Depreciation
Satellites
Property and Equipment
Total property and equipment	1,798.7		1,973.1
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(660.2)		(795.4)
Property and equipment, net	1,138.5		1,177.7
Satellites \| Minimum
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	9 years
Satellites \| Maximum
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	13 years
Quickbird Satellite
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	12 years 2 months 12 days
Total property and equipment			174.4
Accumulated depreciation and amortization			(174.4)
WorldView-1 Satellite
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	13 years
Total property and equipment	473.2		473.2
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(323.4)		(316.8)
Property and equipment, net	149.8		156.4
WorldView-2 Satellite
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	13 years
Total property and equipment	463.2		463.2
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(215.8)		(207.9)
Property and equipment, net	247.4		255.3
WorldView-3 Satellite
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	11 years 6 months
Total property and equipment	649.5		649.5
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(28.2)		(14.1)
Property and equipment, net	621.3		635.4
IKONOS Satellite
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	9 years
Total property and equipment	1.0		1.0
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(1.0)		(1.0)
GeoEye-1 Satellite
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	9 years
Total property and equipment	211.8		211.8
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(91.8)		(81.2)
Property and equipment, net	120.0		130.6
Construction in progress
Property and Equipment
Total property and equipment	765.8		765.1
Computer equipment and software
Property and Equipment
Total property and equipment	403.6		376.2
Computer equipment and software \| Minimum
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	3 years
Computer equipment and software \| Maximum
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	12 years
Machinery and equipment, including ground terminals
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	5 years
Total property and equipment	109.3		109.3
Furniture, fixtures and other
Property and Equipment
Total property and equipment	40.1		39.9
Furniture, fixtures and other \| Minimum
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	3 years
Furniture, fixtures and other \| Maximum
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	7 years
Land and buildings
Property and Equipment
Depreciable Life	34 years
Total property and equipment	$ 6.6		$ 6.6