Former Soviet cosmonaut and Jahn-companion : Waleri Bykowski died

The former Soviet cosmonaut and world space-companion of the GDR-space driver is Sigmund Jähn, Waleri Bykowski, is dead. He had already died on Wednesday aged 84, near Moscow told the cosmonauts training center "Yuri Gagarin". Overall, the trained fighter pilot Bykowski has spent more than 20 days in All. During the space flight with the German Jähn in 1978, Bykowski was a commander of the Soviet spaceship "Soyuz-31".

Just eight days, the two remained in space and orbited 125 Times the earth. "He was my commander," said Jahn on the death message. Jähn was then in the GDR as a Hero. Also Bykowski received many awards for his merits. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The 84-Year-old belongs to the first Generation of Soviet cosmonauts, paid tribute to the educational center "Yuri Gagarin".

Bykowski is now the record holder. In 1963, he circled 4 days, 23 hours and 6 minutes alone in order to the earth. The had succeeded up to now no other, wrote the Russian tabloid "Komsomolskaya Pravda". This was his first flight into space at all.

Bykowski ended his career in the ' 80s

Jahn reported that he had seen his colleagues recently in Russia. He had been there, however, are drawn from the health problems, said Jahn. "We had well understood. We regularly had days of contact to the party.“

After the flight, the two astronauts Bykovsky worked for the Gagarin centre, finished but in the 80 years of his active career as a spaceman. He had passed his Knowledge on to the younger Generation, so the training center.

Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin paid tribute to Bykowski as "people with extraordinary courage and strength." With his "devotional service" he has written history, paid tribute to the President on Thursday evening.

Berlin mourns the loss of honorary citizens

Also, the governing mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller (SPD), commented on the death Bykowskis: "Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky was one of the pioneers of space travel. He belongs to the first group of Soviet pilots who were selected in 1960 for the Vostok program. For Germany and for our city Bykowski played therefore a very special role, because he was in 1978, on his third and final flight into space PAL, the first German in space, Sigmund Jähn," Müller said. "Berlin mourns the loss of its honorary citizen and a brave people, who is one of the first to have taken the risk and the challenge, the door in the cosmos to open up."

Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky was the honorary citizen of the 21st century. September 1978, awarded jointly with Sigmund Jähn.

Alternative history of the GDR to the world's market leader

on The 25th anniversary of his flight, Jähn Bykowski of the German press Agency, said: "I was in love with the cosmos." He had, however, recognized that his time as a spaceman is over. The rivalry in space between the United States and the Soviet Union in the Cold war, he looked critical. "We would be in this area, without a doubt, still much better and continue to be, if you had not kept the space research a secret from each other." (dpa, tsp)