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Jaehn, Sigmund Werner Paul 'Sig'
Jaehn
Jaehn
Credit: www.spacefacts.de
German pilot cosmonaut 1976-1978. First German astronaut.

Status: Inactive; Active 1976-1978. Born: 1937-02-13. Spaceflights: 1 . Total time in space: 7.87 days. Birth Place: Rautenkrantz.

Biography

Sigmund Jaehn was born to a working-class family. In 1943, he entered primary school in Rauthenkranz. In 1951, he graduated from the 8th grade, and began studying printing. At the Falkenstein Printing House in Klingenthal he received his printer's diploma. In 1955, based on an appeal of the Union of Free German Youth, he entered the National People's Army of the GDR and was enlisted as a cadet at the Franz Mehring Higher Air Force Officer School. After graduation in 1958, he served with the Air Force of the National People's Army of the GDR. In 1970, he graduated from the Gagarin Air Force Academy in the USSR, and continued service in the Air Force of the GDR as a pilot-inspector. Fluent in Russian, he translated into German a number of Soviet military and political publications.

In 1976 he was accepted into the Soviet cosmonaut unit (1976 Intercosmos Group # 1) together with Eberhard Koellner. He underwent the full general space preparation course under the Intercosmos program for co-operation with socialist countries. He made his space flight from August 26 through September 3, 1978, as the research cosmonaut of the space ship Soyuz-31 (call sign - Yastreb-2) together with Soviet Valery Bykovsky. The cosmonauts worked onboard the orbital complex Salyut-6 - Soyuz -29 - Soyuz -30 together with Vladimir Vasilyevich Kovalenok and Alexsander Sergeyevich Ivanchenkov. Their stay in space was 7 days 20 hours 49 minutes and 4 seconds.

After the flight he returned home to continued service in the National People's Army of the GDR. From 1980 to 1983 he was the Assistant to the Chief of the Directorate of the GDR Air Force. After the merger of two Germanies he was retired from military service, and until 1993 was not engaged in any work. Since 1993 he has worked as a representative of Germany to the European Space Agency.

Awards: Hero of the Soviet Union. Hero of the German Democratic Republic. Awarded Order of Lenin (USSR), Order of Karl Marx (GDR), other German Orders and Medals.

Married, two children and grandsons.

Copyright © Alexander Zheleznyakov, 1998.


More at: Jaehn.

Family: Cosmonaut. Country: Germany. Spacecraft: Salyut 6. Flights: Soyuz 29, Soyuz 31. Agency: East German AF. Bibliography: 5562.

1937 February 13 - .
1976 November 25 - .
1978 August 26 - . 14:51 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC1. LV Family: R-7. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz-U.
1978 September 3 - .

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