NASA had recently announced the launch of the large infrared James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) considered a ‘premier observatory’ of the space organisation. The launch is likely to take place later this year. However, what the world’s attention to is not the characteristics but the name of the telescope as it has an alleged homophobic connection. 

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According to an article published in the journal Nature, NASA is investigating the renaming of US $ 8.8-billion telescope. The considerations came after certain allegations were raised that NASA’s former government-appointed administrator James Webb, after whom JWST is named, had persecuted homosexuals during his term as a government official.

 Who made the allegations

In May 2021, four prominent astronomers —Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Sarah Tuttle, Lucianne Walkowicz, and Brian Nord filed a petition demanding a change in the name of JWST. 

Earlier in March, they had presented their stance in a news article that was published in Scientific American.

“It is unfortunate that NASA’s current plan is to launch this incredible instrument into space carrying the name of a man whose legacy at best is complicated and at worst reflects complicity in homophobic discrimination in the federal government,’ the article read.

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The history behind the allegations

According to the article written by these four astronomers, Webb, under a federal policy that used to exist when before he arrived at NASA in 1961, expelled LGBT individuals from the government workforce 

The federal policy under question was a forerunner to the antigay witch hunt known today as the ‘Lavender Scare’, according to the astronomers, who have written that Webb was aware of this as early as 1950.

What was the federal policy

In 2016, archivist Judith Adkins noted that thousands of gay employees were fired or forced to resign from the federal workforce because of their sexuality as a part of ‘Lavender Scare’.

It was during this time that Webb started his career with the US government in the late 1940s, prior to joining NASA.

Why was the telescope named after Webb

During Webb’s tenure as US administrator, NASA launched over 75 space science missions, including probes that were sent to Mars and Venus.

As per NASA, Webb “did more for science than perhaps any other government official, and… it is only fitting that the Next Generation Space Telescope would be named after him”.