Earnings per Share (Details 2) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Net income attributable to EchoStar
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	$ 77,222	$ 6,409	$ 55,671	$ 38,756
Net income from discontinued operations	0	531	0	7,108
Net income attributable to EchoStar Corporation common stock	$ 77,222	$ 6,940	$ 55,671	$ 45,864
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - Class A and B common stock:
Basic (in shares)	96,091	95,537	95,990	95,143
Dilutive impact of stock awards outstanding (in shares)	855	1,248	1,048	1,308
Diluted (in shares)	96,946	96,785	97,038	96,451
Earnings Per Share, Basic [Abstract]
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 0.80	$ 0.07	$ 0.58	$ 0.41
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	0	0	0.07
Total basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	0.80	0.07	0.58	0.48
Earnings Per Share, Diluted [Abstract]
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	0.80	0.07	0.57	0.40
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	0	0	0.08
Total diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.80	$ 0.07	$ 0.57	$ 0.48