"4, 3, 2, 1 Go! Yeah!" Blast-off"
Business is taking off at Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory.
Operators of the commercial spaceport - Equatorial Launch Australia - have signed their first multi-launch, multi-year contract with a rocket company.
Executive Chairman Michael Jones says it's a significant deal, especially financially.
"Our launch fees and activities range from $900,000 through to $1.5 million per launch. So it depends on the size of the rocket, the types of fuel, the level of services that each of the contractors asked for us. So it's a big contract. It's significant. And what it does really is start the, you know, the fear of missing out of the other customers to come and launch with us."
The space centre's launch pads will be used by South Korean aerospace company INNOSPACE to send twelve rockets into low orbit.
The company's Global Business Director, Win Marchall Bronzewall, says they provide something akin to a taxi service to space.
"We carry any payload (load), which could be a small satellite, a micro satellite, or a test satellite, or a test module into space according to our customer's requirements."
He says the space centre's geographical location makes it an attractive option in a competitive global market.
"Launching from around the equator gives us an added advantage because of the Earth's rotation. And so with the same amount of fuel we can launch more payloads to orbit. So, we see that Australia the launch site in Arnhem is uniquely located in that very good location which could be of great advantage to us."
Equatorial Launch Australia is working to reach launch agreements with up to six other organisations.
Arnhem Space Centre is located on the land of the Gumatj people.
The Chief Executive of the Gumatj Corporation, Klaus Helms, hopes as the facility gets busier, job opportunities for local people increase.
"Rio Tinto will be closing their mine in the next 10-years or so. So any further development is good."
The first INNOSPACE launch from East Arnhem is scheduled for 2025.
