Should Government Control of Space Travel Continue?

Elon Musks's recent stunt of putting his car in orbit has been greeted with whines from people claiming that, since governments started space exploration, we must continue government control. (There have been similar claims about nuclear energy or the Internet.)

That makes as much sense as claiming that, since Silicon Valley was started by a racist, we must ensure it is controlled by racists.

That makes as much sense as claiming that, since post offices were invented by the Persian Empire, all postage stamps must be sold by Iran.

That makes as much sense as claiming that, since Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney, the Disney Corporation must hold a perpetual copyright. This last is particularly important since many of the whines come from critics of Intellectual Property.

Meanwhile, I recommend that, if we free copyright after 70 years, maybe we should also deregulate technologies produced with government support after 70 years.