Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
✅In this explosive episode, host Raj Shrivastava (Marketing & PR Manager, Manastu Space) sits down with Mr. Srinivas Laxman, veteran space journalist, proud son of legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman, and a man who has witnessed India’s space journey from its humble beginnings to global dominance.
✅ISRO’s rise: From Bullock Carts to Moon Landings 🛰️
✅How India became the first country to land on the South Pole of the🌙
✅Incredible behind-the-scenes stories of Chandrayaan Missions
✅Meeting Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin & Gene Cernan (first and last men on the moon 👨🚀)
✅Cold War space race secrets: USSR vs USA, Sputnik vs Apollo, NASA vs ROSCOSMOS
✅Memories of growing up with R.K. Laxman
🔥From Apollo 13’s 'successful failure' to India’s first atomic bomb masterminds, this episode is loaded with rare stories, historical insights, and space knowledge worth millions. If you’re a space lover, ISRO supporter, or history enthusiast, this podcast is unmissable.
#ISRO #SpacePodcast #NeilArmstrong #Chandrayaan3 #ManastuSpace
00:00 – Welcome to Manastu Space Podcast #7
4:13 – Meet Veteran Space Journalist, Mr. Srinivas Laxman
4:48 – National Space Day, a tribute to Chandrayaan-3 Landing
5:05 – Chandrayaan-2 lost communication
5:35 – “We are on the moon”: Ex-ISRO Chief, Mr. Somnath
5:50 – First country in the world to land on South Pole of the moon
6:42 – Apollo 13; The Successful Failure
7:25 – IIT Bombay students map chemistry of moon using Chandrayaan-2 Data
8:15 – Indian Space Program started on Nov 23rd, 1963
9:00 – Started as a Crime Reporter in Times of India
9:52 – My story on ‘1992 Gulf War’ created a ruckus in Indian Parliament
12:00 – Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)
12:30 – Homi Bhabha, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and St. Mary Magdalene Church in Thumba
13:10 – Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
14:30 – My Father was a tough guy; Mr. R.K Laxman
15:40 – His cartoons were loved by millions of Indians
16:45 – Balasaheb Thackeray and R.K Laxman used to have lunch together
17:35 – Space Reporting and my first launch in 1997 with PSLV Rocket
18:35 – Exciting experience of Chandrayaan-1
20:35 – ISRO’s First Mission to the Moon discovered water on it
21:30 – Carrying parts of rockets and satellites on Bullock Carts
22:20 – First launch with Russians, Aryabhata Satellite (1975)
22:45 – Designed and developed by U.R Rao in Bangalore
24:12 – First Rohini Satellite of Kalam didn’t succeed, but...
25:00 – Vikram Sarabhai dreamt of First Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) of India
25:50 – Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV)
26:00 – Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
26:10 - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
26:30 – Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3)
26:50 – First Artificial Earth Satellite: Sputnik 1
27:30 - Wernher von Braun – World Famous Rocket Genius
28:44 – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
29:12 – Cuban Missile Crisis, CIA Failures, Vietnam War
29:36 – Yuri Gagarin, April 12th, 1961 (First Man in Space)
30:28 – ROSCOSMOS: The Space Agency of Russia
30:40 - “We choose to go to the Moon” - September 1962 speech by John F. Kennedy
31:08 - Sergei Korolev: Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer
31:23 - Laika, first stray dog to orbit Earth in Sputnik-2 launch (1957)
31:55 – First Space Shuttle of NASA (April 12th, 1981)
32:05 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower called ‘Sputnik’ a toy
32:20 – Cold War: Communism vs Capitalism
32:38 - ROSCOSMOS Vs NASA
34:00 – “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”
34:45 – Neil Armstrong becomes the ‘First Man on the Moon’
36:20 – Raja Ramanna; brains behind India’s first atomic bomb
37:10 – ‘The Atomic Rendezvous’
37:40 – This is how I met Neil Armstrong in Mumbai
38:50 – Man who stood first on the moon was standing next to me
39:50 - “Will you go back to the moon?”
40:50 – Buzz Aldrin chewed me up in a press conference
42:46 – I met Gene Cernan (Last Man on the Moon)
43:20 – How are astronauts selected for space missions?
44:46 – Calmness, Being Present and Personality
45:30 – First Man, starring Ryan Gosling
46:00 – Next Episode coming soon
🌍 Follow Manastu Space
🔹 Website: manastuspace.com
🔹 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/manastu-space
🔹 Twitter/X: https://x.com/ManastuSpace
🔹 Instagram: instagram.com/manastuspace
🔹 YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCl5514jRJH8sHItxbC6flYg
📲Follow Srinivas Laxman
🔗LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/srinivas-laxman-75a6432a/?originalSubdomain=in
🔗Book Buy Link: amzn.in/d/bfNGIOa
🎙️Follow Host - Raj Shrivastava
🔗LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raj-shrivastava-7656331a0
🔗Instagram: instagram.com/thenamezraj
🚀 The Manastu Space Podcast is India’s first in-house podcast by a space organization, bringing you deep-dive conversations with space-tech leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and thinkers shaping the future of space and deep tech.
✅In this explosive episode, host Raj Shrivastava (Marketing & PR Manager, Manastu Space) sits down with Mr. Srinivas Laxman, veteran space journalist, proud son of legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman, and a man who has witnessed India’s space journey from its humble beginnings to global dominance.
✅ISRO’s rise: From Bullock Carts to Moon Landings 🛰️
✅How India became the first country to land on the South Pole of the🌙
✅Incredible behind-the-scenes stories of Chandrayaan Missions
✅Meeting Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin & Gene Cernan (first and last men on the moon 👨🚀)
✅Cold War space race secrets: USSR vs USA, Sputnik vs Apollo, NASA vs ROSCOSMOS
✅Memories of growing up with R.K. Laxman
🔥From Apollo 13’s 'successful failure' to India’s first atomic bomb masterminds, this episode is loaded with rare stories, historical insights, and space knowledge worth millions. If you’re a space lover, ISRO supporter, or history enthusiast, this podcast is unmissable.
#ISRO #SpacePodcast #NeilArmstrong #Chandrayaan3 #ManastuSpace
00:00 – Welcome to Manastu Space Podcast #7
4:13 – Meet Veteran Space Journalist, Mr. Srinivas Laxman
4:48 – National Space Day, a tribute to Chandrayaan-3 Landing
5:05 – Chandrayaan-2 lost communication
5:35 – “We are on the moon”: Ex-ISRO Chief, Mr. Somnath
5:50 – First country in the world to land on South Pole of the moon
6:42 – Apollo 13; The Successful Failure
7:25 – IIT Bombay students map chemistry of moon using Chandrayaan-2 Data
8:15 – Indian Space Program started on Nov 23rd, 1963
9:00 – Started as a Crime Reporter in Times of India
9:52 – My story on ‘1992 Gulf War’ created a ruckus in Indian Parliament
12:00 – Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)
12:30 – Homi Bhabha, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and St. Mary Magdalene Church in Thumba
13:10 – Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
14:30 – My Father was a tough guy; Mr. R.K Laxman
15:40 – His cartoons were loved by millions of Indians
16:45 – Balasaheb Thackeray and R.K Laxman used to have lunch together
17:35 – Space Reporting and my first launch in 1997 with PSLV Rocket
18:35 – Exciting experience of Chandrayaan-1
20:35 – ISRO’s First Mission to the Moon discovered water on it
21:30 – Carrying parts of rockets and satellites on Bullock Carts
22:20 – First launch with Russians, Aryabhata Satellite (1975)
22:45 – Designed and developed by U.R Rao in Bangalore
24:12 – First Rohini Satellite of Kalam didn’t succeed, but...
25:00 – Vikram Sarabhai dreamt of First Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) of India
25:50 – Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV)
26:00 – Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
26:10 - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
26:30 – Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3)
26:50 – First Artificial Earth Satellite: Sputnik 1
27:30 - Wernher von Braun – World Famous Rocket Genius
28:44 – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
29:12 – Cuban Missile Crisis, CIA Failures, Vietnam War
29:36 – Yuri Gagarin, April 12th, 1961 (First Man in Space)
30:28 – ROSCOSMOS: The Space Agency of Russia
30:40 - “We choose to go to the Moon” - September 1962 speech by John F. Kennedy
31:08 - Sergei Korolev: Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer
31:23 - Laika, first stray dog to orbit Earth in Sputnik-2 launch (1957)
31:55 – First Space Shuttle of NASA (April 12th, 1981)
32:05 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower called ‘Sputnik’ a toy
32:20 – Cold War: Communism vs Capitalism
32:38 - ROSCOSMOS Vs NASA
34:00 – “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”
34:45 – Neil Armstrong becomes the ‘First Man on the Moon’
36:20 – Raja Ramanna; brains behind India’s first atomic bomb
37:10 – ‘The Atomic Rendezvous’
37:40 – This is how I met Neil Armstrong in Mumbai
38:50 – Man who stood first on the moon was standing next to me
39:50 - “Will you go back to the moon?”
40:50 – Buzz Aldrin chewed me up in a press conference
42:46 – I met Gene Cernan (Last Man on the Moon)
43:20 – How are astronauts selected for space missions?
44:46 – Calmness, Being Present and Personality
45:30 – First Man, starring Ryan Gosling
46:00 – Next Episode coming soon
🌍 Follow Manastu Space
🔹 Website: manastuspace.com
🔹 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/manastu-space
🔹 Twitter/X: https://x.com/ManastuSpace
🔹 Instagram: instagram.com/manastuspace
🔹 YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCl5514jRJH8sHItxbC6flYg
📲Follow Srinivas Laxman
🔗LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/srinivas-laxman-75a6432a/?originalSubdomain=in
🔗Book Buy Link: amzn.in/d/bfNGIOa
🎙️Follow Host - Raj Shrivastava
🔗LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raj-shrivastava-7656331a0
🔗Instagram: instagram.com/thenamezraj
🚀 The Manastu Space Podcast is India’s first in-house podcast by a space organization, bringing you deep-dive conversations with space-tech leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and thinkers shaping the future of space and deep tech.
