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![image preview](https://commons.erau.edu/space-congress-bios-2019/1047/preview.jpg)
Creation Date
2019
Biography
A self-described accidental entrepreneur and Unconventional CEO®, Carol Craig is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Craig Technologies, headquartered in Merritt Island, FL. Craig Technologies is an Engineering, Technology and Manufacturing company that supports both government and commercial customers nationwide with employees in over 20 states. Carol grew Craig Technologies from one person in 1999 to over 475 associates with continual diversification and expansion of capabilities.
As CEO, Carol oversees corporate operations to ensure quality service-delivery for her commercial and government customers, offering commercial space operations onboard the International Space Station, design engineering, precision machining and fabrication, avionics and electronic fabrication, systems engineering and integration, software design and development, information technology support, training and courseware development, cyber security, integrated logistics and range operations support.
Craig’s corporate headquarters, Engineering division, and training division are is based in Merritt Island, FL. The engineering division provides quality in-house Design Engineering services from up-front analysis to integration, assembly and test in support of customers such as the Department of Defense, NASA, Boeing, General Dynamics Electric Boat, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Nanoracks, LLC.
Craig’s aerospace subsidiary Craig Technologies Aerospace Solutions (CTAS) has both a 20,000 square foot precision manufacturing facility, and an 8,000 square foot avionics and electronics fabrication facility in Cape Canaveral, FL. The CTAS manufacturing operation provides engineers, technicians and state of the art equipment to support precision machining, fabrication and assembly for prototypes, test articles, one-offs, and low-rate initial production up through high volume swiss screw machining production for companies such as Boeing, United Launch Alliance, Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Harris, Pacific Scientific, NASA and other government and commercial customers. Its electronics operation produces a wide range of space system flight and ground cables, fiber optic assemblies and electronic chassis for such customers as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, and NASA. CTAS also provides turnkey services to manage and execute the successful integration and on-orbit operations of satellite payloads using the Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS). SSIKLOPS fills the payload deployment gap between small cubesat launchers and major payloads by supporting the microsatellite market (50-100kg).
CTAS provides deployment services but also has engineering, manufacturing, and electronics labs, facilities and expertise to assist throughout the entire lifecycle. CTAS offers a solution that achieves the advantages of providing more frequent opportunities for microsatellite deployment in low-Earth orbit, lowering the vibration test hurdles and providing the opportunity for a final checkout of the satellite before use.
In addition to NASA and other federal agencies, satellite deployment services are provided to commercial customers both nationally and globally. The timeline for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) deployment is as little as 14 months based upon the satellite development stage.
Craig Technologies is designing and/or building flight and/or ground hardware for every US space program. Those programs include Commercial Crew, Commercial Cargo, Space Launch System (SLS), Orion, Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB), Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV), International Space Station (ISS), Commercial Space to include SpaceX, Blue Origin and One Web (with more to come) and the Lunar Gateway. Notably, Craig Technologies has commercialized a microgravity experiment platform on the ISS (Craig-X) allowing commercial companies, government agencies and academic institutions to test materials and electronics in space and also provides microsatellite mission, operations and integration services using the largest satellite deployer on the ISS - supporting satellites up to 250 lbs.
As a P-3C Orion Naval Flight Officer, Carol was the first female aviator to join her P-3C Orion squadron, based at Harbors Point, Hawaii. She holds a BA in Computer Science from Knox College, a BS in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Illinois, and an MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Ms. Craig is pursuing a PhD in Systems Engineering at Florida Tech in Melbourne, FL.
Carol serves as a member of the Knox College Board of Trustees, and is a board member on the Florida Tech College of Business, Advisory Board, Dean’s Industry Advisory Board (IAB), Florida High-Tech Corridor Council, National Space Club of Florida, Civilian Military Community Foundation, Economic Development Commission of the Space Coast, Junior Achievement of the Space Coast, Cocoa Beach Chamber of Commerce, and the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, FL.
Carol and her husband, CAPT John W. Craig, USN (RET), a former F/A-18 pilot who now flies for JetBlue Airways have two teenage children. In response to her son’s diagnosis with Prader-Willi Syndrome in 2001, Carol founded the Danny Craig Foundation, aiming to raise and administer funds for multiple organizations that focus on researching children’s medical disorders and identifying interventions that help them lead independent lives.