Lockheed Martin Space Systems said Jan. 25 that the Space Vehicle Integration Laboratory (SVIL) it announced last March has achieved initial operational capability and is supporting the company’s satellite development program activity.

The SVIL is intended to allow spacecraft designers to simulate and test space vehicle architectures, component designs and interfaces in flight-like conditions long before flight-qualified hardware is available

Although the SVIL is in Denver, the lab’s computer and software systems can be remotely accessed by engineers across the company, Lockheed Martin said in a release.

Rick Ambrose, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager for surveillance and navigation systems, said in a statement that the SVIL will “help programs reduce up-front systems engineering and implementation costs by focusing on complete traceability from early requirements to implementation in a single, integrated vehicle engineering framework.”