SPACE
NASA Slammed for Honoring Anti-LGBTQ Administrator
Space agency defi es calls to change name of James Webb Space Telescope
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
NASA has decided not
to change the name of
the James Webb Space
Telescope despite concerns
from advocates who have denounced
the fi gure’s homophobic
past.
NPR reports that results from a
NASA investigation into the matter
revealed “no evidence at this
time” that would justify the agency
changing the name of the $10
billion telescope, which is set to
launch in December. As a former
administrator for NASA, Webb allegedly
contributed to the mass
persecution and outing of gay and
lesbian employees at federal agencies
during the 1960s and 1970s.
Webb’s anti-LGBTQ record has
many astronomers questioning
NASA’s decision to name a telescope
after the controversial leader.
The space agency NASA has decided not to change the name of a telescope honoring an administrator
with an anti-LGBTQ record.
As of late, more than 1,200 scientists
and astronomers, including
Lucianne Walkowicz of JustSpace
Alliance and Adler Planetarium,
and Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a
REUTERS/JOE SKIPPER/FILE PHOTO
Black agender physicist and professor
at the University of New
Hampshire, launched a petition
urging the agency to choose a new
name for the instrument.
“Prior to serving as the NASA
Administrator, Webb served as the
Undersecretary of State during the
purge of queer people from government
service known as the ‘Lavender
Scare,'” advocates wrote in the
letter. “We demand that NASA immediately
rename JWST, and bestow
this honor on someone whose
legacy befi ts a telescope whose
data will be used in discoveries
that will inspire future generations
of astronomers, discoveries that we
the undersigned will make.”
During Webb’s tenure at the
agency, former NASA employee
Clifford L. Norton was allegedly
arrested after he was seen talking
with another man. Norton was later
fi red from his job on the “suspicion
of homosexuality,” advocates
wrote in the letter.
NASA did not immediately respond
to Gay City News’ request
for comment.
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