OTD In Space - August 26: Sigmund Jähn Becomes 1st German In Space
On Aug. 26, 1978, cosmonaut and pilot Sigmund Jähn became the first German to fly in space.
Jähn was an experienced pilot for the East German Air Force and studied at the Gagarin Air Force Academy in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. In 1976, he and one other German pilot were selected for the Interkosmos program, which was designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with space missions. Jähn joined three Soviet cosmonauts on the Soyuz 31 mission to the Salyut 6 space station, where he took photos of the Earth using a new multispectral camera. He also conducted experiments in biology, physics and materials science. After almost eight days in space, he safely returned to Earth.
Jähn was an experienced pilot for the East German Air Force and studied at the Gagarin Air Force Academy in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. In 1976, he and one other German pilot were selected for the Interkosmos program, which was designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with space missions. Jähn joined three Soviet cosmonauts on the Soyuz 31 mission to the Salyut 6 space station, where he took photos of the Earth using a new multispectral camera. He also conducted experiments in biology, physics and materials science. After almost eight days in space, he safely returned to Earth.
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TechTranscript
00:00On this day in space.
00:03In 1978, cosmonaut and pilot Sigmund Jens became the first German to fly in space.
00:08Jens was an experienced pilot for the East German Air Force
00:11and studied at the Gagarin Air Force Academy in the Soviet Union in the 1960s.
00:15In 1976, he and one other German pilot were selected for the Interkosmos program
00:20which was designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with space missions.
00:23Jens joined three Soviet cosmonauts on the Soyuz 31 mission to the Salyut 6 space station
00:28where he took photos of the Earth using a new multi-spectral camera.
00:32He also conducted experiments in biology, physics, and material science.
00:36After almost eight days in space, he safely returned to Earth.
00:39And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:42♪ MUSIC ♪