Welcome to Texas ProRata, where we take just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the inclusion of tech, business, and politics.

Sponsored by What It Takes, Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, the New York Times bestselling book by Blackstone Stephen Schwartzman.

I'm Dan for Mac. On today's show, allegations of Chinese espionage

at a U.S. pension fund and a big day for CEO swaps. But first, the dawn of space tourism.

So it has been a few years since billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk

promised to begin flying rich folks into orbit, or at least into sub-orbit. 2020 is when it's actually supposed to begin happening.

Both Bezos's Blue Origin and Branson's Virgin Galactic

have pledged to have their first paying customers blast off by year-end,

while Musk's SpaceX is targeting 2021.

Why it matters isn't just because it satisfies the childhood dreams of a select

group of billionaires and their millionaire clientele.

It's because the accompanying media coverage could refuel general American interest in space,

thus helping to further build the space industry's non-tourism business, you know, stuff like

launching communication satellites and scientific exploration.

One big question, though, is oversight.

The FAA is officially in charge of making sure these flights are safe, but also has ceded much of

its power so far to the private spaceflight companies themselves, some shades of Boeing there,

and obviously raises the stakes for everyone. The bottom line, there is a lot riding on these rockets.

In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper with Axios Space Editor Merriam Kramer.

But first, this.

In the New York Times bestselling book,

What It Takes, Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence,

...