[Satellite Today 07-29-09]  EADS Astrium earned 2.2 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in revenues in the first half of 2009, an increase of about 30 percent from its 2008 figures from the same period, the company announced in its financial report released July 28.
    EADS Astrium said the increase has been fuelled by a strong performance in the navigation and Earth observation satellite business as well as a high contribution from defense activities.
    At the end of June, the company’s order backlog stood at 15.6 billion euros ($22.2 billion), up from its 2008 mid-year backlog mark at 11 billion euros ($15.7 billion).