Pioneer program
In 1954, he became Division Chief of the Vehicle Environment Division, which was composed of a physics branch, an entry simulation branch, a structural dynamics branch, the 3.5 foot hypersonic wind tunnel branch and the hypervelocity ballistic range branch. In 1958, Eggers headed up the Manned Satellite Team, which was to design a practical system for a satellite while recommending a suitable research program. This ultimately led to Ames developing and managing the Pioneer program of planetary exploration probes. Although Eggers is most famous for his pioneering work on atmospheric reentry with a blunt body, arguably his greatest achievement was his work on supersonic interference lift. This work lead directly to the XB-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber.