| Sigmund Jähn | |
|---|---|
| Interkosmos Cosmonaut | |
| Nationality | German |
| Born | 13 February 1937 Saxony, Germany |
| Other occupation | Pilot |
| Rank | Major General, East German Air Force |
| Time in space | 7d 20h 49m |
| Selection | 1976 Intercosmos Group |
| Missions | Soyuz 31/Soyuz 29 |
| Mission insignia | |
Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn (born 13 February 1937) is a German pilot who became the first German to fly in space as part of the Soviet Union's Interkosmos programme.
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Jähn was born in Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz, in the Vogtland district of Saxony, Germany. From 1943 to 1951 he attended school in his hometown, and after school trained as a printer.
In 1955 he joined the (East) German Democratic Republic (GDR) air force (the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA) where he became a pilot and military scientist. From 1966 until 1970 he studied at the Gagarin Air Force Academy in Monino, in the Soviet Union, and afterwards worked in the administration of the East German air force, responsible for pilot education and flight safety.
Jähn was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 3 September 1978.[1] In 1983 he received a doctorate in physics at the "Zentralinstitut für Physik der Erde" in Potsdam, specialising in remote sensing of the earth.
Starting in 1990, after German reunification, he worked as a freelance consultant for the formerly West German spaceflight agency German Aerospace Center (DLR), and from 1993 also for the European Space Agency (ESA) to prepare for the Euromir missions. In 2002 he finally retired from this job.
Jähn is married and has two children. He lives in Strausberg and he enjoys reading and hunting.
Asteroid 17737 was named Sigmundjähn in 2001.
In 1976, Jähn was selected with his backup Eberhard Köllner for the Interkosmos programme. He trained in Star City near Moscow for the next two years, and flew on board Soyuz 31 (launched 26 August 1978) to the Soviet space station Salyut 6, and returned on Soyuz 29, landing on 3 September 1978. He spent 7 days, 20 hours, and 49 minutes in space.
During and after the flight, he and the socialist authorities of the GDR pronounced him "the first German cosmonaut", which was remarkable, as in those days the East German state normally stressed that their people were "GDR citizens", to distinguish themselves from West Germany.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sigmund_J%C3%A4hn Sigmund Jähn] at Wikimedia Commons