On 26 August 1978, GDR citizen Sigmund Jähn became the first German to journey into space. Together with his Soviet commander, Valery Bykovsky, he flew to the Soviet Salyut 6 space station. There, Jähn conducted numerous scientific experiments. With his eight-day flight, during which he orbited Earth 125 times, he became famous in both East and West.
Siegmund Jähn at the rollout before Alexander Gerst's launch in 2018
On 6 June 2018, 40 years after becoming the first German to go into space, Siegmund Jähn visited Baikonur and watched the rollout of the rocket that would carry Alexander Gerst into space.
It is with great sadness that the Executive Board and staff of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have learned of the death of Sigmund Jähn, the first German to go into space. He passed away on 21 September 2019.
“With the death of Sigmund Jähn, German space research has lost a world-renowned cosmonaut, scientist and engineer,” says Pascale Ehrenfreund, Chair of the DLR Executive Board. “The first German to go into space always saw himself as a bridge builder between East and West and an advocate for the peaceful use of space. We will preserve and perpetuate this message, for Earth and space, in his memory.”
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Andreas Schütz
Head of Corporate Communications, DLR Spokesperson
