Julia Rothman

Julia Rothman is responsible for all launch operations at Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand – Rocket Lab’s primary spaceport for its Electron launch vehicle and the world’s first private orbital launch site.

Ms. Rothman brings to Rocket Lab more than two decades of aerospace experience working as a Technical Scientist and Engineer in both New Zealand and the United States. Ms. Rothman served eighteen years in the United States Air Force Space Command and Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate. As a Physicist Captain Rothman worked diverse programs such as responsive space launch, next-generation satellite communications & missile defense. As a Senior Engineer and later Deputy Chief Engineer, Ms. Rothman supported Space Superiority and the Defense Weather Systems Directorate, where she managed technical efforts and critical technology transitions across multiple teams and programs. Ms. Rothman successfully secured funding for new weather model development and Antarctic satellite receiver site which doubled the advance warning time for Category 5 hurricanes after Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Rothman was also instrumental on a key space situational awareness program tracking space debris, data used all by space faring countries daily. Returning home to New Zealand in 2018, Ms. Rothman worked for the New Zealand Defence Force to introduce system engineering capabilities that allow for the proactive management of defense equipment. Recently, Ms. Rothman has also identified space technology development opportunities within the U.S. for Robinson Research Institute of Victoria University.