Net (Loss) Income Attributable to ORBCOMM Inc. Common Stockholders - Summary of Basic and Diluted Calculations of EPS (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net (loss) income attributable to ORBCOMM Inc. common stockholders	$ (12,217)	$ 1,394	$ (15,099)	$ 953
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic number of common shares outstanding	70,427	55,199	70,333	54,212
Dilutive effect of grants of stock options, unvested SAR's and RSU's and shares of Series A convertible preferred stock		1,581		1,764
Diluted number of common shares outstanding	70,427	56,780	70,333	55,976
Earnings per share:
Basic	$ (0.17)	$ 0.03	$ (0.21)	$ 0.02
Diluted	$ (0.17)	$ 0.02	$ (0.21)	$ 0.02