World Sigmund Jähn, First German in Space and a Hero Back Home, Dies at 82 September 24, 2019September 24, 2019CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZEComments Off on Sigmund Jähn, First German in Space and a Hero Back Home, Dies at 82 He spent almost eight days aboard a space station in 1978 and was hailed by East Germans as a symbol of socialist achievement.