Why these successive postponements of the KEO launching ?

Initially intended as a non-profit project to be realized exclusively through voluntary help of donations in kind and expertise, KEO was frequently slowed down because of the hazards or difficult economic trends met by its direct partners.

Chronologically, the successive postponements of the launching of KEO are attributed to repercussions related to the following facts :

• Restructuring of the French then European space industry (1996 / 1999)
• Recession in the world-wide space activity from 2000 to 2002
• Attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001
• Reorganization of the French Space Agency (CNES) 2002 – 2003
• Failure of the qualifying launch of Ariane V 10 tons on December 2002
• Lack of enthusiasm of several partners due to the prolongations of the project
• Restructuring of the data processing industry
• Armed conflicts and political conditions of the world

As many facts having either temporarily called into question or delayed the industrial engineering of the satellite or slowed down the collection of messages worldwide.