NASA's next flagship space telescope, scheduled to launch in December after many years of delays, will retain its current name, the James Webb Space Telescope, despite the controversy surrounding its honoree.
The telescope was dedicated to James Webb, the space agency’s administrator from 1961 to 1968 and throughout the Apollo years, in 2002. However, over the last six years, evidence has come to light linking Webb’s work in the upper echelons of the state department with what is known as the Lavender Scare, the state-sponsored anti-LGBT purge that forced gay and bisexual scientists and civil servants from US federal jobs because of their sexuality in the 1950 년대와 60 년대.
Naming Hubble's successor after someone involved in one of American history's most discriminatory political actions proved controversial enough that thousands of astronomers, astrophysicists, and scientists signed a petition calling for it to be renamed. The petition, started by cosmologist Dr Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, astrophysicist Dr Sarah Tuttle, astronomer Dr Lucianne Walkowicz, and astrophysicist Dr Brian Nord, reads:
"This new mission reflects the rainbow of possible universes that our community imagines, dreams about, and works for, and its name should reflect its future legacy. We are not only space science professionals and space enthusiasts, we are also future users of JWST. Together, we are part of the constituency that NASA purports to serve and inspire through its mission to “reveal the unknown for the benefit of all humankind.”
The letter adds:"[U]nder Webb’s leadership, queer people were persecuted. Those who would excuse Webb’s failure of leadership cannot simultaneously award him credit for his management of Apollo."
이 청원으로 NASA는 Webb의 정책 및 행동과 관련된 보관 문서를 조사하고 검토하기위한 조사를 시작했습니다. Following up on the investigation with the agency, IFLScience was told that the investigation is now concluded and that there are no plans to rename the telescope due to not enough evidence warranting a name change.
“We have found no evidence at this time that warrants changing the name of the James Webb Space Telescope,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement seen by IFLScience.
Back in June, the head of NASA’s astrophysics division, Dr Paul Hertz, asked the agency to be transparent with the community and the public regarding the investigation and whichever decision was made in the end. Iflscience가 조사 결과가 발표 될지 물었을 때 NASA 대변인은 공유 할 것이 없다고 말했습니다.
“We truly don’t have anything to report because our investigation hasn’t found anything,” Karen Fox, Senior Science Communications Officer for NASA, told IFLScience.
Previous documents shared widely online have highlighted the role Webb himself had in facilitating and supporting homophobic policy discussions among US senators as Undersecretary of State in 1950.
연방 안티 LGBTQ 정책에서의 그의 역할은 문제가되는 것으로 널리 알려진 것이 아닙니다. During his tenure as NASA administrator, women were deliberately excluded from the astronaut program despite the so-called Mercury 13 outperforming the male astronauts. 그는 또한 1980 년에 "여자가 싸우는 싸움"이라는 제목의 에세이를 작성했습니다. 그때는 미국 해군 사관학교를 졸업 한 최초의 여성 장교들이 당시 교수였던 역사적인 해였습니다.
NASA has proven receptive in recent years to requests for name changes of space objects that have proven insensitive. A prime example is the renaming of an asteroid formerly known as "Ultima Thule" to Arrakoth in 2019 after learning its original name had Nazi connotations. Last year it announced it would stop using derogatory or problematic nicknames for objects, renaming both the Eskimo nebula and Siamese Twin galaxy to less offensive terms.
