Ex-officials slam Sivan, says 'ISRO changes Chandrayan-2 success rates every day'

Chennai: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan's statement on Saturday that Chandrayaan-2 mission was 98 per cent success has invited scorn many former senior officials of the space agency.

"In one week (success) percentage has increased by three per cent. By the unitary method, in another five days, the success rate will become 100 per cent," a former official made sarcastic comment, reported IANS.

"In two days, the ISRO may announce Chandrayaan-2 mission was 100 per cent success," another retired official said.

Talking to media persons in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, Sivan had said: "We could not establish any communication with the lander (Vikram) yet. The project was developed in two parts - science and technology demonstration. We achieved total success in science objective while in technology demonstration; the success percentage was almost full. That's why the project can be termed as 98 per cent successful."

On September 7, Vikram while on its descent to soft land on the moon's south polar region, apparently lost control and crash-landed, snapping communication links.

On July 22, the Rs 978 crore Chandrayaan-2 was launched into the space by India's heavy lift rocket GSLV-Mk III in a text book style.