Principal Members have authority over the development, release and adoption of OpenGIS® Specifications through their voting rights in the OGC Planning Committee (PC). Principal Members also evaluate and provide guidance on market direction and Consortium focus, have approval authority for OGC policies and procedures, and vote to elect members of the OGC Board of Directors.

Mark Reichardt, President, OGC, said, “Astrium’s move to Principal Membership in the OGC reflects the importance of standards in the company’s diverse business mission and customer base. As a Principal Member, Astrium is positioned to represent European requirements across the Consortium’s programs.”

Robert Lainé, Chief Technical Officer of Astrium, said, “With activities spanning the entire range of space technologies and applications, from satellite design to services in navigation and Earth observation, we strongly believe in the benefits of cross-driving industry standards and are fully supporting the OGC interoperability vision. This is consistent with the commitment of our Infoterra subsidiary to develop geo-information services for the benefits of governments, businesses and citizens, especially through its leading role in the European GMES programme.”

About EADS Astrium

Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, specializes in civil and military space systems and space-based services. In 2006, Astrium achieved revenues of 3.2 billion euros and employed approximately 12,000 people in France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The company’s core business is divided into three areas: the two business units Astrium Space Transportation (for launch vehicles and space infrastructures) and Astrium Satellites (for satellites and ground segments), and the wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite-based services.

EADS is one of the world’s leading suppliers of aerospace and defense systems and all associated services. In 2006, the company’s revenues amounted to around 39.4 billion euros, with a workforce of more than 116,000 employees.

About The Open Geospatial Consortium

The OGC® is an international consortium of more than 345 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OpenGIS® Standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled