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.
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.
00:00 – Manastu Space Podcast #7 4:13 – Meet Veteran Space Journalist, Mr. Srinivas Laxman 4:48 – National Space Day5:05 – 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)15:40 – His cartoons were loved by millions of Indians 16:45 – Balasaheb Thackeray and R.K Laxman used to have lunch together17:35 – Space Reporting and my first launch in 1997 with PSLV Rocket 18:35 – Exciting experience of Chandrayaan-120:35 – ISRO’s First Mission to the Moon discovered water 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 127:30 - 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) 32:20 – Cold War: Communism vs Capitalism 32:38 - ROSCOSMOS Vs NASA 34:45 – Neil Armstrong becomes the ‘First Man on the Moon’ 36:20 – Raja Ramanna; brains behind India’s first atomic bomb38:50 – Man who stood first on the moon was standing next to me 43:20 – How are astronauts selected for space missions?🌍 Follow Manastu Space🔹 Website: https://www.manastuspace.com/ 🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/manastu-space/ 🔹 Twitter/X: https://x.com/ManastuSpace 🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manastuspace/ 🔹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl5514jRJH8sHItxbC6flYg 📲Follow Srinivas Laxman🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srinivas-laxman-75a6432a/?originalSubdomain=in🎙️Follow Host - Raj Shrivastava 🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raj-shrivastava-7656331a0/ 🔗Instagram: https://www.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.