On-orbit demonstration pairs Shield AI’s Hivemind pilot with Sedaro’s simulation and autonomy framework onboard NOVI’s LEO satellite

ARLINGTON, Va. (August 24, 2026) — Shield AI, Sedaro and NOVI Space today announced the successful on-orbit demonstration of trusted satellite autonomy operations facilitated by NOVI operator verification and validation.

Across multiple on-orbit experiments, Shield AI’s Hivemind pilot ran onboard a NOVI satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO) — the first time the AI pilot has flown in orbit. The demonstration represents both the highest-altitude and longest-duration Hivemind deployment to date, extending Shield AI’s autonomy from airborne platforms to an operational satellite in orbit.

With NOVI’s satellite serving as the leader of a six-satellite constellation alongside five virtual satellites, Hivemind, in collaboration with Sedaro’s Autonomy Framework for the Edge (SAFE), performed multi-objective optimization, balancing imaging tasking, spacecraft health, battery state of charge, and pointing across the constellation. Over a 24-hour experiment window, the spacecraft executed 189 Hivemind-generated and SAFE-approved commands.

In a second experiment, SAFE and Sedaro’s Edge Deployable Simulators (EDS) performed similar multi-objective optimizations and increased the satellite’s Iridium communications contact initiation by 8 percentage points.

Satellite constellations underpin communications, Earth observation, and national security missions, but are still largely managed through manual workflows. This demonstration showed how trusted autonomy capabilities can be layered onto existing and future constellations, significantly reducing operator workload. This exercise also showed that satellites not originally designed for autonomy can successfully orchestrate intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions using Hivemind.

“By integrating Hivemind with Sedaro’s EDS’s and SAFE framework, we demonstrated how operators can move from manually operating distributed assets to autonomous mission tasking in a seamless workflow,” said Todd Wesley, vice president of Hivemind engineering at Shield AI. “As satellite constellations grow in size and complexity, autonomy will make future space missions more scalable, efficient, and responsive without increasing operator burden.”

“The hardest part of autonomous space operations is trust,” said Robbie Robertson, CEO and co-founder of Sedaro. “By providing a predictive, onboard model of the spacecraft and its environment, SAFE and our Edge-Deployable Simulators let operators validate autonomous decisions before they execute.”

“NOVI’s satellites are built to advance edge computing and AI capabilities on orbit, providing customers with a platform for actual on-orbit testing,” said Dr. Michael Bartholomeusz, CEO of NOVI Space. “We’re proud to support this important technology demonstration.”

“This effort provides a significant milestone to the integration of autonomy and satellite operations to meet future mission needs,” said Dr. Sean Phillips, Technology Advisor, Space Control Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory.

In late 2025, Shield AI and Sedaro announced a strategic partnership to advance autonomous operations in space, establishing Hivemind as Sedaro’s preferred autonomy software for on-orbit demonstrations and the Sedaro Platform as the primary environment for developing, testing, and validating Hivemind in space-based scenarios. This demonstration marks Hivemind’s first deployment in the space domain.

Sedaro’s SAFE technology and suite of autonomy modes were developed under a Phase II SBIR award by SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force and a unique division within AFWERX. This program is lead through an integrated team between SpaceWERX, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and Space Systems Command.

This research was, in part, funded by the U.S. Government. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government.

About Shield AI:

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai.  Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Media Contact: Lily Hinz; [email protected]

About Sedaro:

Sedaro empowers engineers, operators, and leaders to deliver decisive warfighter capability by aligning around a unified view of mission performance across design, acquisition, testing, and operations. Actively deployed across DoW, USSF, and IC programs supporting space, missile defense, joint all-domain operations, and force design, Sedaro delivers national security enterprise integration at 100x scale and 10x delivery speed. For more information, visit www.sedaro.com and follow Sedaro on LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Jordan Nachbar; [email protected] 

About NOVI Space, Inc.:

NOVI Space, Inc. (NOVI) is building the compute and AI infrastructure layer for space, as well as providing the industry with flight-proven onboard computing systems. NOVI’s open-access GENIE platform and satellites combine multiple sensors with advanced in-orbit edge processing to enable real-time Earth Observation and Geo Intelligence at a fraction of today’s costs. NOVI’s flight heritage includes successful development and on-orbit operation of edge-intelligent image processing payloads, OBCs, and free-flier satellites under U.S. government programs. More information about the company can be found by visiting https://www.novispace.ai/.

Media Contact: Amit Mehra; [email protected]

About SpaceWERX:

As the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force and a unique division within AFWERX, SpaceWERX inspires and empowers collaboration with innovators to accelerate capabilities and shape our future in space. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SpaceWERX employs 40 military, civilian and contractor personnel executing an annual $457 million budget. Additionally, SpaceWERX partners with Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office (COMSO) as a collaborative program. Since it was aligned under AFRL in Aug. 2021, SpaceWERX has awarded over 1,470 contracts worth more than $1.46 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: spacewerx.us.

About AFWERX:

As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at four hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has awarded over 10,400 contracts worth more than $7.24 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: afwerx.com.

About AFRL:

The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Public Affairs approval AFRL-2026-3569