From the window of Lander Holsinger's childhood bedroom, he could see the farms and fields that define Pennsylvania's rural landscapes. But since he was in middle school, Lander's gaze has been directed upward, toward outer space.

It all began in a basement with a few neighborhood kids building and programming Lego robots. Holsinger became involved in FIRST Robotics, an organization that provides opportunities for teams to compete against and in cooperation with one another while learning the fundamentals of engineering. The scoring system also includes a judging and community outreach element.

In elementary school, Holsinger attended several weeklong summer STEM camps at Millersville University on topics such as computer-aided design (CAD), Lego Mindstorms, and combustion engines. He asked for a CAD laptop and a 3D printer for Christmas. He also moved up into the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics league, where the robots are more complex and customized.

With access to mentors and industry CAD and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, Holsinger found his calling on the FIRST FTC scene as a member of the Out of the Box Robotics team from Downingtown. Holsinger designed, built, and drove the team's robots to several state and regional championships and qualified for the FIRST world competition every year. In St. Louis and Detroit, Out of the Box Robotics competed alongside teams from countries around the globe. Participants had just a few hours to strategize with randomly assigned fellow teams from around the world, some of which did not speak their language. The event included eight competitions.

After graduating from Lampeter-Strasburg High School, Holsinger attended Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), the original training ground for NASA. He participated for seven semesters on the affiliated Larson Motorsports jet dragster racing team, where he crewed races in several states. He also had access to Siemens NX, a piece of industry software for modeling fluid dynamics. Becoming proficient in this software at FIT would unlock yet another opportunity.

In 2024, shortly after graduating from FIT with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, Holsinger began his dream job. He now works on the SpaceX Starship launch pad under construction at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Holsinger spends his days in the flame bucket that lies beneath the launch tower. The Artemis II spacecraft was just down range prior to its launch.

Sometime soon, the tower Holsinger is helping to design will be used to both launch and retrieve the V3 Starship super heavy-lift rocket booster. Holsinger's other projects include plumbing and hardware to support fluid and blast containment.

Local youths interested in pursuing similar careers may consider joining FIRST Robotics. To learn more, visit http://www.firstinspires.org.