Pascal Parraud is replaced by Sébastien Dinot (@sdinot), as CS GROUP representative, on the Orekit PMC with effect from April 4, 2025.
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Thank you very much, @pascal.parraud 
Hello everyone,
I have the honor of having been invited to join the Orekit PMC and I have enthusiastically accepted this new role. But most of the contributors and users of Orekit have certainly never heard of me before today, and they must be surprised by this news. A little introduction is therefore in order.
I must start with a confession: shame on me, I know nothing about Java and nothing about space dynamics. I am therefore quite unable to contribute to the Orekit source code (well almost!) or to help users on the forum. But then, what am I doing here? Why was I asked to join the PMC?
I have 27 years of experience in free and open source software. I am passionate about its technical, legal, social and economic aspects.
In 2008, I was already working for the Space Business Unit of CS Group when the company decided to release Orekit under an open source license and, thanks to @luc and Christine Fernandez, I was involved from the start in the reflection on the strategy to be adopted. I was also there in 2011, when CS Group decided to open up the governance of the project, and I remember proposing some amendments to the draft governance.
Over the years, I have proposed to the community to adopt a collaborative development platform and some best practices (continuous integration, quality assurance). In 2018, I proposed the adoption of GitLab and the replacement of mailing lists with a modern forum (Discourse). Guiding the community towards best practices and offering it the best tools is my constant concern, because the community is the most valuable asset of an open source project. We must ensure that it is provided with an attractive, welcoming and efficient environment for collaboration.
Suggesting tools and best practices is good. Taking charge of implementing them is better. Having some skills in system administration, I have been taking care of the development platform since 2011. I am the one people come to when a service no longer responds or when the CI/CD platform has a mood swing.
It’s not my specialty at all, but I’m also the author of the current Orekit website. By the way, this website was created 10 years ago and is outdated, just as Jekyll is no longer the tool of choice today. It would be high time to refresh all that. If you feel like doing something about it, preferably using a static site generator, feel free to talk about it on the forum. 
I often say in my talks that I have a deep, sincere and personal attachment to the Orekit project. I saw it come into being, grow, earn its stripes and become a reference in its field. But above all, I have seen its community blossom and grow, exceptional in its quality and behavior. I wish all open source projects a community like Orekit’s. You impress me, and I am proud, at my humble level, to be part of your tribe.
I will do my best within the PMC to ensure the smooth running of the project. I want to push a few topics related to community governance and leadership.
Beyond Orekit, with the support of Luc Maisonobe and others, in 2013 I created the CS Group’s free and open source software governance, as well as its Open Source Program Office (OSPO), which I have been running for 12 years. I support CS teams who wish to publish a project under an open source license or contribute to a third-party open source project, ensuring that things are done according to best practices. You can find out a little more about me by visiting my LinkedIn profile.
Finally, I would like to warmly thank Pascal Parraud, who will soon be leaving us for retirement, which I wish him a happy and long one. Pascal is discreet and has never put himself forward, and yet he could have. For several decades, he has been one of the pillars of the space dynamics department at CS Group. I have learned a lot from him, and I have loved discussing the most varied subjects with him. Just last week, he introduced me to the Turkish alphabet reform. Pascal, I’m going to miss you.
Sébastien, a free and open source software addict and advocate
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Welcome to the PMC Sébastien !! 
In fact, we are proud to have Sébastien on board!
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For your information, I announced this change on Saturday on the website:
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