Editing Sigmund Jähn (section)

== Later career ==

Jähn was promoted to [[colonel]] in 1978 following the success of the Soyuz 31 space flight and was subsequently promoted to Deputy Head of the Center for Cosmic Training within the [[Kommando LSK/LV]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biografie von Sigmund Jähn |url=https://www.esa.int/Space_in_Member_States/Germany/Biografie_von_Sigmund_Jaehn |access-date=16 November 2023 |website=[[European Space Agency]] |language=en}}</ref> He remained deputy head of the training center until 1990.

In 1983, Jähn received his [[Doctor of Science|doctorate of science]] in [[remote sensing]] of the Earth at the [[:de:Zentralinstitut für Physik der Erde|Zentralinstitut für Physik der Erde]] in [[Potsdam]]. He studied under the leadership of Karl-Heinz Marek, the department head for remote sensing at that time. Jähn's doctoral [[thesis]], among other topics, was based on the scientific preparations and evaluations of various kinds of flight missions.

Jähn became one of the founding members of the [[Association of Space Explorers]] in 1985.

On 1 March 1986, Jähn was promoted to major general. Following the dissolution of the GDR on 2 October 1990,<ref>{{Citation |title=German reunification |date=2023-11-12 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_reunification&oldid=1184770866 |work=Wikipedia |access-date=2023-11-16 |language=en}}</ref> he was relieved from duty alongside the last remaining command staff of the NVA, like [[Major general|Major General]] [[Lothar Engelhardt]] and [[Admiral]] [[Theodor Hoffmann (admiral)|Theodor Hoffmann]].

Jähn became a freelance consultant for the [[German Aerospace Center]] until 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Sigmund Jähn: erster Deutscher im All" |url=http://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/stn/page/1797348_0_2147_vor-30-jahren-sigmund-jaehn-erster-deutscher-im-all.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928143952/http://stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/stn/page/1797348_0_2147_vor-30-jahren-sigmund-jaehn-erster-deutscher-im-all.html |trans-title=Sigmund Jähn: First German in Space|archive-date=28 September 2008 |language=de |website=[[Stuttgarter Nachrichten]]}}</ref> He then worked for the [[European Space Agency]], or [[European Space Agency|ESA]] following their ongoing projects with the Russian space agency [[Roscosmos]] in [[Zvyozdny gorodok (urban-type settlement)|Zvyozdny Gorodok]]. He obtained this position with the support of his [[West Germany|West German]] colleague [[Ulf Merbold]] and remained there for the following 15 years. The two had met in 1984 during a conference held in [[Salzburg]].<ref>{{ill|Thomas_Gerlach_(Journalist)|lt=Gerlach, Thomas|de}}. {{Cite news |url=https://taz.de/Zum-Tod-von-Sigmund-Jaehn/!5625096/ |title=Zum Tod von Sigmund Jähn: Hoch hinaus mit Bodenhaftung |trans-title=On the Death of Sigmund Jähn: Aim High but Stay Well-Grounded |work=[[Die Tageszeitung]]
|date=23 September 2019 |issn=0931-9085}}</ref>

He retired in 2002. In 2011, on the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight by [[Yuri Gagarin]], he explained to ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' that taking the ''[[Sandmännchen|Das Sandmännchen]] toy'' on his flight was not a personal choice, but rather he took the figurine in order to film material for the show.