In 1978, Sigmund Jähn became the first German to travel to space. Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn was born on February 13, 1937, in Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz, Saxony, Germany. After completing his early education, he trained and worked as a book printer before joining the East German Air Force in 1955, where he rose through the ranks and pursued advanced training in flight tactics and combat aviation. He later attended the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy in Monino, earning a degree in military science in 1970 and working in pilot education and flight safety. In 1976, Jähn was selected for cosmonaut training under the Soviet Interkosmos program. On August 26th, 1978, he launched aboard Soyuz 31 with Soviet cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky and traveled to the Salyut 6 space station. During the nearly 8-day mission, he conducted scientific experiments in materials science, Earth observation, biology, medicine, and occupational psychology, and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz 29. Following the mission, Jähn received national honors including Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of the GDR, and went on to earn a Ph.D. in geophysics in 1983.Sigmund Jähn passed away on September 21st, 2019, at the age of 82.