Sam Ximenes is a Space Architect with over 30 years’ experience in the aerospace industry with NASA, DoD, and international space programs. He has held executive management positions at Lockheed Martin, L-3 Communications, and Futron Corporation with responsibility for business strategies for growth and development of their respective business units in advanced programs and technology insertion for space systems. While at Grumman Corporation he led systems integration and habitation efforts of international partner laboratory modules for the NASA Space Station program. He is currently CEO of Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc), a space architecture consulting firm he founded in 2007. The firm specializes in commercial spaceport development and design, and space systems development for space exploration initiatives for planetary surface systems for habitation and human settlement. He was a member of the design team for the first commercial spaceport, Spaceport America, and United Kingdom spaceport site assessments, and led the effort developing the economic and business case for viability of Houston Spaceport for the City of Houston. He is also Founder and Board Chair of WEX Foundation, a non-profit organization for advancing careers in space exploration through Space-STEM education. His latest venture is CEO of Astroport Space Technologies, Inc., founded in 2020 as a wholly owned subsidiary of XArc to develop lunar construction technologies for emplacement of critical elements of lunar surface infrastructure.

In 2023, Mr. Ximenes was inducted into the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design from Texas A&M University and a Master’s degree in Space Architecture from the University of Houston. He is a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Space Architecture Technical Committee, associate member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and affiliate member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Regolith Operations, Mobility & Robotics Technical Committee.

Notable Media Recognition:

San Antonio's space architect has hometown roots and out-of-this-world ideas

San Antonio company working with military, SpaceX to move cargo anywhere in world in an hour or less

San Antonio firm is working on moon launch pads for NASA

To the Moon, Mars and Beyond, Trio of Space Pioneers Finds a Home Base to Connect Students’ Work to Real-Life Opportunities on Our Planet and Beyond

TEDx Presenter: Journey to the Center of the Moon