Sandy Tirtey
About Sandy Tirtey
Sandy Tirtey serves as the Director of Global Commercial Launch Services at Rocket Lab, where he has worked since 2019. He holds a PhD in Aerospace from the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics and has extensive experience in hypersonic vehicle development and cryogenic rocket launch systems.
Current Role at Rocket Lab
Sandy Tirtey serves as the Director of Global Commercial Launch Services at Rocket Lab, a position held since 2019. In this role, Tirtey oversees the strategic direction and operational execution of commercial launch services on a global scale. Additionally, Tirtey has been functioning as the Launch Director since 2016, managing launch operations in Auckland, New Zealand. This dual role highlights Tirtey's extensive experience in the aerospace sector and her leadership in facilitating successful launch missions.
Education and Expertise
Sandy Tirtey has an extensive educational background in aerospace and mechanical engineering. She earned a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Faculté Polytechnique de Mons, studying from 1997 to 2002. Subsequently, she pursued a Diploma Course in Aerospace and Hypersonics at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics from 2002 to 2003. Tirtey further advanced her studies by obtaining a PhD from the same institute, focusing on boundary-layer transition and thermo-structural computations, which are essential for hypersonic vehicle development.
Professional Background
Before her current roles at Rocket Lab, Sandy Tirtey worked at the University of Queensland from 2011 to 2014 as a Scientist. She also served as the Technical Lead and Project Manager for Scramspace I during her tenure there from 2010 to 2014. Earlier in her career, she was a PhD Candidate at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics from 2003 to 2009. Additionally, she held the position of Director of Business Development Australia at Rocket Lab USA for one year, from 2018 to 2019.
Research and Development Contributions
Sandy Tirtey has made significant contributions to the field of aerospace engineering, particularly in the areas of cryogenic rocket launch vehicles and scramjet propulsion systems. Her expertise includes the construction and management of re-entry vehicles, which are critical for the development of advanced aerospace technologies. Tirtey's work in boundary-layer transition and thermo-structural computations has been pivotal in enhancing the performance and safety of hypersonic vehicles.