Biography
Shortly after leaving the U.S. Navy as an Electronics Technician, Hank Eggers became a Field Engineer for General Dynamics Corp. in the early 1960s. He was sent to Houston from San Diego California to work at NASA under contract on installing and maintaining the IBM 4020-Bitserver as well as other computer and electronics equipment. He was responsible for the design of several circuits to improve the speed and efficiency of the system and conducted meetings with representatives from Kodak and Lockheed and showed demonstrations of the “4020” as they were interested in purchasing this type of equipment. Mr. Robert R. Gilruth had even sent him a personal invitation to the conference held on the results and experiences of the Mercury Project held at the Music Hall on October 3rd and 4th, 1963.
Hank loved space and the engineering behind it. At just 25 years old, he was thrilled to work with such great people and in such a fascinating environment, and having the opportunity to meet several Astronauts. While in Houston in the 1960s, he stayed in a small apartment on the Gulf Freeway for a time and was able to see the motorcade of President Kennedy as it drove him to Ellington Field for his flight to Dallas. One event, in which he would always speak of, was the fatal fire of the Apollo capsule, killing Gus Grissom.
After leaving NASA, Hank traveled a lot in his work and returned to Houston to raise a family. Many years later I met and married Hank in 1996 and he was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. Hank passed away in October of 2012 and I know he would be very proud to have these items on display to share with others who loved the Space Program as much as he did.
-Linda F. Eggers
