About

Within the architecture profession, Space Architecture is recognized as a bona fide specialty that applies the theory and practice of designing and building inhabited environments in outer space. The three principal domains of the field include: orbital architecture, planet surface architecture, and Earth-based space facilities architecture which supports space faring activities such as design and development of spaceports, or terrestrial analog environments for research.

XArc Founding Beliefs

The next great age of human space exploration in the 21st century is upon us.

The infrastructure build-out for a new space economy has begun in commercial entrepreneurial space, civil space, and strategic space sectors.

To fulfill the promise of this vision, the services of varied professional disciplines and industries typically not associated with aerospace, such as Architecture, will be needed.

Space Architecture is at the core of understanding technology development needs for human habitation on harsh distant worlds and in the extreme environment of space.

XArc provides expertise in the field of space architecture and engineering; consulting services in the field of architectural design for spaceports, space stations, planetary surface systems, and terrestrial space related facilites.

Our technology development programs for habitable system applications service markets in civil and commercial space exploration.

Principal Domains in the Practice of Space Architecture

Earth-based Space Architecture

Orbital Architecture

Planet Surface Architecture

Suborbital Commercial Spaceport example

Orbital Private Space Station example

Lunar Outpost example

Founder

In 2007, Space Architect Sam Ximenes founded Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc). After 20 years of experience in space systems and human space exploration providing products, services, and program management to NASA, DoD, and international space programs he began XArc to service the burgeoning commercial space market, also known as New Space. His founding vision for the company was to position XArc as an Interplanetary Architecture firm, always striving to be at the forefront of enabling 21st century technologies for Earth, Moon, and Mars habitation. Sam Ximenes began his space career as a Space Architect after graduating from the University of Houston Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture, and joined Bell & Trotti Architects, working on design concepts for lunar bases and space station habitability studies for NASA/JSC. He then joined Grumman Aerospace Corporation as a NASA contractor developing Space Station cabin architectures and led design integration efforts of the Japanese and European laboratory modules for the NASA Space Station program. Sam went on to hold executive management positions at Lockheed Martin, L-3 Communications, and Futron Corporation with responsibility for business growth strategies in advanced programs and technology insertion for space systems. Sam has also been a Space Architecture consultant for The Aerospace Corporation, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), and the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT).

In addition to his duties as Founder and CEO of XArc, Sam currently serves as Board Chair of the WEX Foundation, a non-profit youth-serving organization he founded in 2009 for advancing careers in space exploration through NASA funded Space-STEM education programs.

See Sam Ximenes predict the future in 2013