NOVI’s SEED Payload Enables Real-Time Maritime Surveillance from Space

Milivox analysis: NOVI LLC has successfully demonstrated its AI-enabled SEED (Smart Earth Edge Device) payload aboard the International Space Station (ISS), showcasing near real-time detection of marine vessels. This milestone underscores the growing viability of edge-computing-driven ISR platforms in orbit and their potential to transform maritime domain awareness (MDA) through persistent space-based surveillance.

Background

The SEED payload is a compact electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging system integrated with onboard artificial intelligence for real-time object detection. Developed by NOVI LLC—a U.S.-based aerospace technology firm—the system was launched to the ISS in November 2023 aboard a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply mission (NG-20). By early 2024, it began operational testing as part of NASA’s InSpace Production Applications (InSPA) initiative.

The project is supported by NASA’s efforts to foster commercial use of low Earth orbit (LEO) platforms for dual-use technologies. The SEED system is hosted on Redwire Corporation’s platform within the Bishop Airlock on Nanoracks’ infrastructure module. This configuration enables flexible deployment and power/data interfacing for hosted payloads.

The broader goal is to validate how edge-AI can autonomously process Earth observation data in orbit—bypassing latency and bandwidth constraints associated with downlinking raw imagery for ground-based analysis.

Technical Overview

The SEED payload integrates several key components:

EO/IR Imaging Suite: High-resolution visible and infrared cameras optimized for wide-area maritime surveillance.
Onboard GPU Processing: A radiation-tolerant NVIDIA Jetson platform running convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained to detect vessels under various sea states and lighting conditions.
Edge-AI Software Stack: Custom software developed by NOVI enables autonomous detection, classification, and prioritization of targets without human intervention.

According to NOVI’s public statements and corroborated by Milivox research, the system achieved vessel detection within minutes of image capture—a marked improvement over traditional satellite ISR cycles that can take hours or days due to data relay bottlenecks. The AI model was trained on over 1 million labeled maritime images using synthetic augmentation techniques to improve robustness against cloud cover, sun glint, and wake interference.

This approach mirrors recent trends in commercial remote sensing—such as Maxar’s SmartSat architecture or Planet Labs’ onboard analytics—but distinguishes itself by operating from a crewed orbital platform rather than dedicated smallsats or CubeSats.

Operational or Strategic Context

The ability to autonomously detect marine vessels from LEO has significant implications for both defense and civil security missions. Maritime domain awareness remains a critical challenge due to the vastness of oceanic regions and limitations in radar horizon coverage for coastal systems like Over-the-Horizon Radar (OTHR).

For defense applications:

Navy ISR support: Detecting unregistered or dark vessels operating without AIS transponders—common among smugglers or adversarial navies operating under EMCON conditions.
Tactical cueing: Providing rapid geolocation data that can be fused with other ISR feeds such as SAR satellites or P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft missions.

Civilian uses include:

IUU fishing enforcement: Supporting coast guards in identifying illegal fishing fleets in EEZs across Africa and Southeast Asia.
Disaster response: Tracking shipping lanes during natural disasters when ground-based comms may be disrupted.

This capability aligns with NATO’s increasing emphasis on multi-domain awareness—particularly under programs like DIANA—and could feed into C4ISR architectures via STANAG-compliant interfaces if further matured into operational constellations.

Market or Industry Impact

NOVI’s demonstration marks a notable step forward in commercial defense-adjacent space technology. While large players like Lockheed Martin have invested heavily in hybrid space architectures through programs like SDA’s Transport Layer, startups like NOVI are carving out niches through modularity and AI-native design principles.

The success of SEED validates several market trends:

COTS-to-Orbit Transition: Use of commercial GPUs adapted for LEO environments accelerates development timelines while reducing cost per unit compared to bespoke radiation-hardened chips.
SaaS Model Potential: Edge-AI analytics could be offered as a service model for governments lacking sovereign satellite capabilities but needing access to near-real-time MDA data feeds.
Diversification beyond EO giants: Firms like BlackSky Global or Capella Space focus on imagery; NOVI adds value via onboard interpretation—shifting competition toward insights rather than pixels alone.

If scaled into a constellation via hosted platforms or dedicated microsatellites, NOVI’s technology could compete with emerging European initiatives such as IRIDE (Italy) or France’s HELIOS successor programs focused on persistent surveillance from orbit with AI augmentation layers.

Milivox Commentary

The successful deployment of NOVI’s SEED payload represents more than just another tech demo—it signals a maturation point where edge-AI meets orbital persistence. As assessed by Milivox experts, this convergence will likely reshape how militaries think about tasking vs tipping vs exploitation cycles within their ISR frameworks. Instead of waiting hours for analysts to review downlinked images, operators may soon receive actionable alerts directly from orbit within tactical timelines (<15 minutes).

This shift parallels historical transitions seen during the Cold War when ELINT satellites first enabled strategic warning—but now at tactical scale thanks to miniaturization and machine learning. However, challenges remain: radiation resilience over long durations; adversarial spoofing/camouflage countermeasures; integration into existing C4ISR pipelines; and regulatory hurdles around dual-use tech exports under ITAR/EAR regimes.

If these barriers are addressed—and funding follows—the next five years may see edge-AI payloads become standard across both GEOINT and SIGINT constellations. For now, NOVI has taken an important first step toward that future from its perch aboard humanity’s most enduring orbital outpost—the ISS itself.