1,100 jobs, or almost 25% of the town's population. The population had already dropped by mid 2014, with some of the workforce retained to monitor the shutdown and survey holding ponds full of toxic compounds but most will be gone by January 2015. A range of measures were announced to support the town and its former workers through the closure and the following three years, but locals anticipated further cuts to services since the school, hospital, power plant and flights were backed by Rio Tinto. The closure of the mine also left flights on the Darwin-Nhulunbuy route to fall to around 50-60% full, causing Qantas to suspend flights on the route from 17 August 2015. Rio Tinto announced that the bauxite mine would be closed by 2030 or sooner. Spaceport The Arnhem Space Centre has created employment for local people, and brought NASA staff and many tourists to the town when three rockets were launched in mid-2022, booking out accommodation for weeks. The longterm future of the site is not known, but the owners of the project, Equatorial Launch Australia, has indicated that there are other space companies interested in using the rocket launch pad, and NASA has confirmed that it will use the facility again in the future. Transport It is possible to hire four wheel drives, conventional vehicles or bicycles in Nhulunbuy and an airport bus and taxi company service the town. Air The Gove Airport is located 13 km from the town centre of Nhulunbuy. AirNorth has a daily flight to Gove from Cairns and Darwin which then connect to cities around the world. Qantas used to run a daily flight but when the refinery closed they discontinued this service. The Cairns – Gove flight is 1 hour and 40 minutes duration and Darwin – Gove is 1 hour and 10 minutes. Road The most direct route to Nhulunbuy from a major Highway is via the Central Arnhem Road which leaves the Stuart Highway 52km south of Katherine. The first 30 kilometres are sealed and then the rest is a gravel road. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended, particularly for the two major river crossings, the Wilton River near Bulman Aboriginals Community and the Goyder River, about 300 kilometres from Nhulunbuy. Fuel needs to be carried as travellers may not be able to purchase fuel along the way. The Central Arnhem Road is 682 kilometres long, plus the