The Grainger College of Engineering
Siebel School of Computing and Data Science

Carol Craig

2022 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award

Steve Chen
Carol Craig

Ms. Carol Craig, the CEO of Sidus Space Inc. (NASDAQ: SIDU) recently became the first female founder and owner of a space-based company to go public. Sidus Space was listed on Nasdaq for the Initial Public Offering (IPO) on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.

Carol’s story, leading her to where she is today is truly unique. Before becoming a self-described “astropreneur,” Carol was one of the first women eligible to fly combat aircraft in the U.S. Navy and the first female aviator in her squadron serving as an active-duty P-3C Orion Naval Flight Officer. In this position, she was responsible for all tactical communication and navigation aboard combat aircraft. An engineer by trade, Carol provided software design and development for military aircraft cockpit systems preceding her Naval service and instruction of flight planning software for the U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Weapons School post service.

 Prior to her role as Sidus Space Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Carol Craig built her namesake firm, Craig Technologies, into an aerospace and defense contracting company recognized throughout the U.S. government. Craig Technologies offers engineering and technical solutions to include Software Design/Development, Systems Engineering, Multidisciplinary Engineering, Training and Courseware Development, Modeling & Simulation, IT Support, and Integrated Logistics Support.  

Sidus Space has a mission of Bringing Space Down to Earth™ and a vision of enabling space flight heritage status for new technologies while delivering data and predictive analytics to domestic and global customers. Sidus Space has a broad range of Space-As-a-Service offerings including space-rated hardware manufacturing, design engineering, satellite manufacturing and platform development, launch and support services, data analytics services and satellite constellation management.

Carol and her husband, CAPT John W. Craig, USN (RET), a former F/A-18 pilot who now flies for JetBlue Airways, have two children. In response to her son’s diagnosis with Prader-Willi Syndrome in 2001, Carol is Founder of the Danny Craig Foundation, aiming to raise and administer funds for multiple organizations that focus on researching children’s medical disorders.