All Astronauts
ROOKIEIn Memoriam—
ROOKIEIn Memoriam—Other·🇩🇪 Germany·Born 1937
Sigmund Jähn
First German in space.
188h
Hours in Space
1
Missions
0
EVAs
—
EVA Time
Inspirations
What they aspire to
He hoped his flight would inspire German children to study science and reach for the stars.
Biography
First German in space. East German pilot who flew on the Intercosmos program to Salyut 6 in 1978, conducting 25 experiments.
Before NASAEast German Air Force fighter pilot and military scientist trained at the Gagarin Air Force Academy in the Soviet Union.
Notable Missions
Soyuz 31 / Salyut 6 (Intercosmos)
Beyond the Mission
Causes They Champion
European-Russian space cooperationMentoring German ESA astronauts at Star City
Languages
GermanRussian
Awards & Honors
- Hero of the Soviet Union
- Hero of the German Democratic Republic
- Order of Lenin
- Order of Karl Marx
Fun fact
He took an East German 'Sandmännchen' (Sandman) puppet to Salyut 6 and filmed it greeting children back home — making it a cultural icon for generations of Germans.
Item flown to space
A Sandmännchen puppet from East German children's television.
More Astronauts
Other space travelers from Other and Germany
