• Sam earned a master’s degree in Space Architecture from the University of Houston after earlier business-development roles with Lockheed Martin (1995-1997) and L-3 Communications (1997-2005). He became Division Director at Futron Corporation in 2006 before founding Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc) in 2007, where he remains President and CEO, specializing in commercial spaceport and planetary-surface systems design. In 2014, he launched the WEX Foundation to expand STEM education in space and continues as its Board Chair. Ximenes founded Astroport Space Technologies in 2020 and now serves as the firm's Chief Executive Officer, leading NASA-funded work in space civil engineering for regolith-based landing and launch-pad construction for the Moon. His contributions to aerospace innovation were recognized with induction into the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame in 2023
