Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2011 Year	Sep. 30, 2011	Apr. 01, 2011
Accounts receivable, net:
Accounts receivable, Billed	$ 92,931		$ 100,863
Account receivable, Unbilled	92,392		91,519
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(1,024)		(493)
Accounts receivable, net	184,299		191,889
Inventories:
Raw materials	52,200		46,651
Work in process	23,751		18,713
Finished goods	53,812		33,191
Inventories	129,763		98,555
Prepaid expenses and other current assets:
Prepaid expenses	25,961		18,235
Indemnification receivable	20,000		0
Income tax receivable	230		26
Other	5,220		2,880
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	51,411		21,141
Satellites, net:
Satellite - WildBlue-1 (estimated useful life of 10 years)	195,890		195,890
Capital lease of satellite capacity - Anik F2 (estimated useful life of 10 years)	99,090		99,090
Satellite - ViaSat-1 (under construction)	362,711		276,418
Satellites gross	657,691		571,398
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(60,455)		(38,398)
Satellites, net	597,236		533,000
Property and equipment, net:
Machinery and equipment (estimated useful life of 2-5 years)	151,371		122,113
Computer equipment and software (estimated useful life of 2-7 years)	99,515		66,768
CPE leased equipment (estimated useful life of 3-5 years)	73,814		61,610
Furniture and fixtures (estimated useful life of 7 years)	13,357		13,053
Leasehold improvements (estimated useful life of 2-15 years)	24,810		24,550
Building (estimated useful life of 24 years)	8,923		8,923
Land	4,384		4,384
Construction in progress	91,838		80,976
Property and equipment gross, total	468,012		382,377
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(192,414)		(149,238)
Property equipment, net	275,598		233,139
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Technology (weighted average useful life of 6 years)	53,895		54,344
Contracts and customer relationships (weighted average useful life of 7 years)	88,739		88,834
Non-compete agreement (weighted average useful life of 4 years)	9,319		9,332
Satellite co-location rights (weighted average useful life of 9 years)	8,600		8,600
Trade name (weighted average useful life of 3 years)	5,680		5,680
Other (weighted average useful life of 6 years)	9,330		9,331
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	175,563		176,121
Less accumulated amortization	(108,337)		(94,232)
Other acquired intangible assets, net	67,226		81,889
Accrued liabilities:
Accrued vacation	15,867		15,600
Accrued employee compensation	13,642		18,804
Collections in excess of revenues and deferred revenues	54,408		61,916
Accrued settlement liability	20,500	500	500
Warranty reserve, current portion	7,245		8,014
Other	27,698		25,749
Accrued liabilities	139,360		130,583
Other liabilities:
Unrecognized tax position liabilities	2,217		2,217
Deferred rent, long-term portion	7,185		6,267
Deferred revenue, long-term portion	7,624		6,960
Deferred income taxes, long-term portion	2,786		3,374
Warranty reserve, long-term portion	4,713		4,928
Other	20,717		96
Other liabilities	45,242		23,842
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	2
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	24
Satellite co-location rights [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Finite lived intangibles, weighted average useful life	9
Trade Names [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Finite lived intangibles, weighted average useful life	3
Other intangibles [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Finite lived intangibles, weighted average useful life	6
Technology Equipment [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Finite lived intangibles, weighted average useful life	6
Contracts and customer relationships [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Finite lived intangibles, weighted average useful life	7
Non-compete agreements [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Finite lived intangibles, weighted average useful life	4
Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	2
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	5
Computer equipment and software [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	2
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	7
CPE Leased Equipment [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	$ (29,900)		$ (19,200)
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	3
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	5
Furniture and Fixtures [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life average (years)	7
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	2
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	15
Building [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life average (years)	24
Capital lease of satellite capacity Anik F2 [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property, equipment and satellites, estimated useful life (years)	10 years
Satellite WildBlue-1 [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property, equipment and satellites, estimated useful life (years)	10 years