Craig Sumner played a key role in designing the Lunar Roving Vehicle for the Apollo program and contributed to other major NASA projects.
A Huntsville engineer who helped design a vehicle used on the moon is being remembered for a life of service that extended far beyond the space program.
Craig Sumner spent decades working in aerospace, beginning in 1969 on the Apollo program, where he helped design the Lunar Roving Vehicle and trained astronauts to operate it on the moon’s surface.
But those who knew him say his impact was just as powerful on the ground.
“Craig was the best example I’ve ever seen of a true servant leader,” said Chad Rodriguez, executive director of First Stop.
Rodriguez said Sumner didn’t just lead, he showed up.
“He would be in the kitchen, serving breakfast, treating our clients here going through some of the worst time of their life like they were one of his best friends,” Rodriguez said. “He didn’t discriminate, he didn’t judge.”
Sumner’s career also included service in the U.S. Air Force during Vietnam, where he flew C-130 aircraft before returning to Huntsville to continue his work in the space program.
At the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, colleagues say his accomplishments were matched by his humility.
“The LRV… we call it the first car in space,” said Dr. Kay Taylor, Vice President of Education at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center . “That was one of the first programs Craig worked on in a career that also saw Skylab, the shuttle program, and even coming out of retirement to support Artemis SLS.”
Taylor said Sumner’s life was defined by service across every chapter.
“Craig lived a life of service, whether it was service for his country during Vietnam, whether it was service in the space program, or service to his family, his community, his church,” she said. “He was always in service.”
In recent years, Sumner brought that same mindset to First Stop, a Huntsville organization that provides services to people experiencing homelessness. He was named president of the board shortly before his unexpected passing.
“The legacy that he’s left over the last two years, we’re going to feel here for years,” Rodriguez said.
For those who knew him, that legacy is deeply personal.
“His legacy is everyone who ever had the opportunity to talk to him,” Taylor said. “His legacy is family, his church, his community, the stories and the warmth he shared. We will do our part to sustain that.”
Those closest to Sumner say his life’s work is not only measured in missions, but in the people he inspired along the way.
Courtesy: U.S. Space and Rocket Center