About

Enrico Palermo has led the Australian Space Agency since January 2021. Since his commencement, Enrico has proudly led a diverse team of space agents that have achieved a number of major milestones.

Under his leadership the Agency has reached an agreement with NASA for an Australian designed, built and operated rover to be included in a future mission to the Moon, issued the first launch permits and launch facility licenses under the Australian Space (Launches and Returns) Act, and seen the first commercial spaceflights from Australia.

Before joining the Agency, Enrico spent 14 years in various roles at Virgin Galactic, including establishing and leading a vertically integrated aerospace manufacturing and testing operation for Mach 3, crewed commercial spaceships. From there Enrico was part of the team that launched the New York Stock Exchange listed public company and was appointed Chief Operating Officer.

A Perth native, Enrico graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Physics and Applied Mathematics. He also studied at the International Space University in Strasbourg.