Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Developing East Arnhem Limited tourism development officer Ryley Heap says the NASA launch at East Arnhem will have tourism benefits for the NT

Transcript

Developing East Arnhem Limited tourism development officer Ryley Heap says the NASA launch at East Arnhem will have tourism benefits for the NT · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, after a few delayed starts, I guess you'd say overnight,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: we know that NASA has successfully launched its first rocket
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: from the Arnham Space Center overnight. The suborbital sounding rocket
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: took off just after midnight, making it the first commercial
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: space launch in Australia's history and NASA's first rocket launch
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: from a commercial spaceport outside of the United States. And
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: as I said, we heard a little bit more about
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: it earlier and the excitement that was in the air, but.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: What is the feeling in the region at the moment.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Well, joining me on the line to talk more about
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the launch and how things are going in Null and
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: boy more generally in the region is developing. East Arnham
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Limited Tourism Development Officer Riley Heap, Good morning to you, Riley.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: How you going very well?
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: Riley?
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: How are you guys going following on from that launch overnight?
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: It's just fantastic here in the region. There was a
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: buzz in the air last night and it's only signal
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: what's here to come for e Starham.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it sounds that way.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: We caught up just a little bit earlier this morning
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: and spoke to astrophysicist with the Australian National University, Brad Tucker,
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: and he sounded incredibly excited. I know that it was
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: delayed a few times overnight but eventually got there.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: It was that weather that was delaying things.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: How are people feeling in Null and Boy right now,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: more generally in the East Stanham region, are they pretty
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: excited about the space sector?
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: Absolutely? As I said, this launched last night was the
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: first of three that's happening this year. But Ela Equatoria
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: Watch Australia at the Anham Space Center is hoping to
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: gear up to have over fifty rockets launched per year.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: So I think they were saying last night on the
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: live stream hopefully won every eight to nine days. So
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: while it's while it's a start for Eastanham to have
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: the first space launch happening in the region, it's only
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: a teaser for what's to come.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: And Riley in the leading was it quite busy around town?
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: How are people going trying to get a hotel room
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: or was everything quite booked up?
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: Everything's booked up. We're booked up across the launch period,
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: so we've got launches on the source of July and
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: the twelfth completely booked up. I think they had to
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: chart a charter a flight in last night with all
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: the VIPs and fly them back to tarr And last
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: night as well because there was nowhere to put them.
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: So really good to the region that all our accommodation
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: and camping operators are all booked up, particularly after two
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: years of COVID, which has been tough, and we're booked
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: up for the next month or two still to come.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: So only up from here.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, and your spot on after a couple of
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: tough years when it comes to COVID, it must be
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: wonderful for those operators in the region.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: Riley.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: When we talk more broadly about the economy, how are
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: things tracking for you guys, and what do you think?
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: You know, the development of this industry is going to Maine.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: The easternham region. We're gearing up the mind closure so
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: rio interpreting employer, particularly on the Ghost Peninsula, and I've
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: publicly stated over the next five years that they'll be
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: detailing their extractive operations on the Ghost Peninsula. So an
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: industry like space is giving everyone a lot of hope
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: that there are new industries to take over from mining.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: Space is only one of multiple industries that we're looking
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: at looking at to replace mining, so we're also looking
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: at tourism more broadly, aquacultural activities, forestry activities. There's a
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: bunch of different brunch of work happening at the moment
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: to create new job prospects to replace mining and space.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: As we've all seen last night, is really putting a
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: spotlight on what the opportunities lay ahead very stardom.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: And has the region got everything that it needs at
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: this point?
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Do you think, Riley, when you do talk about that
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: space industry and or is there going to be some
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: additional need for development to keep up with that demand,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: particularly when you talk about accommodation.
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: Like any emerging industry, the region will continue to grow
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: and apt to take advantage of the opportunities that present
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: themselves through something like accommodation is certainly a challenge considering
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: that we're booked out, but that's something we're working on
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: at the moment. Good Much, who's been a key partner
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: in thet and Space Center, has invested heavily in accommodation
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: over the past couple of years. We're only going to
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: see that progress across the region as tourism grows, as
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: the space industry grows and other opportunities to fruition.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: So Riley, all in all, it sounds as though people
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: are feeling pretty positive this morning, following on from that
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: successful launch last night or.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: In the early hours of this morning, I guess you'd.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: Say absolutely, there was a buzz in the air last night.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: We're all looking forward to launch too in a week
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: or two, and we're looking forward to what the future
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: holds Riley.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: Did you get to see it or was there much
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: that you could sort of see from, you know, from
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: where you were, or did you really have to be at,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: you know, at that special platform to be able to
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: see anything.
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: So I watched the launch from just outside of town. Yeah,
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: I think because it was the first launch, everyone was
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: trying to take that on where the best place to
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: see the rocket was. So where I was situated, you
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: could see a flash and all the clouds surrounding the
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: Space center litter as the rocket took off and then
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: launched into the sky before hiding behind the cloud yeap,
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: and then a few seconds after that you could hear
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: the rumble and I think I was probably at least
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: ten kilometers away. There was reports in the Lomboy It's
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: over twenty kilometers away of everyone hearing the sound of
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: the rocket. Yeah, she finally imagine how loud it was
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: for all those people close to the site.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Oh what an exciting time, hey, you know, like for
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: a place like null and Boy and for the East
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: Arnham region, it is such an exciting time. And I
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: can only imagine the buzz that was about yesterday and
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: even in the days leading into it, as that excitement grew.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: So it must be really great to see things bustling
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: at the moment.
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: Rockets in hum lands. Who would have thought, exactly here
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: we are.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: It's pretty wild, isn't it. If somebody had has said
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: it a few.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: Years ago, you'd have thought, hang on a second, are
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: they having me on?
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: I don't know if that's going to happen.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: So it is amazing stuff, amazing to say, absolutely, And.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: As I said, it's only just the stuff we're hoping
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: for over the next few years as Equatoria Launch Australia
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: signs on new commercial partners, that we will have more
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: and more rocket paunches every year and from there we
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: can continue to grow those opportunities. I'm creating new period
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: and experiences from that. Yeah, people can come up to
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: Milan boy come up to Arnham Land, have amazing cultural
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: experiences while they're here and see.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: A rocket absolutely well, even as we'd heard a little
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: bit earlier this morning with the astrophysicists talking about you
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: know it could it be possible that in school holidays
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: to come, you know that kids are heading out to
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: the likes of will to Arnham Land to be able
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: to watch those rockets launched and what would that mean
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: for tourism.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: It'd be massive, wouldn't it.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Absolutely And we've got some lucky school kids here at
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: the moment from New South Wales that have just happened
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: to be in the region while the first rocket launch
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: is taken off and they were camping quite close to
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: the launch right actually a good cola and so it's
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: for those school kids. It was a late night, they'd
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: flown up from Sydney, I think at six am that
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: morning and then city camping right next to the rockets
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: was just an incredible experience for them. But we see
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: the future where students from across the country, potentially across
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: the world can come to Arnum Land not only to
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: engage in those STEM learnings, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics,
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: learnings of the rockets and the Art and Space Center
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: brings to the region, but also to pair that with
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: the urmal culture here as well, and the traditional teachings
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: that the UILL have around the stars, around country and
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: around the land as well. So we see that there's
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: a really big opportunity for people to both pair the
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: ancient with the contemporary to learn more about this country.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: What a wonderful opportunity it could be. Riley, We really
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much for joining
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: us on the show.
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: Not a problem, thanks, thank you.