Soyuz 31 patch, 1978

Interkosmos cosmonaut Sigmund Jähn was the first German in space in August 1978, from the then German Democratic Republic (East Germany), on Soyuz 31. He flew with Russian Valeri Bykovsky to the Salyut space station, spending nearly 8 days in space.

The patch was designed and produced by the Russian Zvezda corporation. When the Interkosmos organisation was formed in 1976, new emblems for uniforms and pressure suits were needed to reflect the cooperative nature of the missions. When it was announced in 1977 that Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and East Germany would be participating in Interkosmos flights, it is likely that Zvezda was asked to produce the Bulgarian, Czechoslovak and East German joint mission Sokol-K suits and mission patches.