Posted on by Matt Williams

NASA's Report Details a Dark Time in American History but Finds no Direct Evidence That Webb Fired People for Their Sexual Orientation

1963 photo showing Dr. William H. Pickering, (center) JPL Director, President John F. Kennedy, (right). NASA Administrator James Webb in background. They are discussing the Mariner program, with a model presented. Credit: NASA

NASA has announced the release of the James Webb History Report, a document detailing their investigation into the namesake of the next-generation space telescope that took to space on December 25th, 2021. Months before it launched, the observatory became the subject of controversy when it was revealed that Webb was involved in the so-called “Lavender Scare.” After reviewing the relevant documents and collections located by their historians, NASA decided not to rename its flagship observatory.

The Final Report, titled “NASA Historical Investigation into James E. Webb’s Relationship to the Lavender Scare,” was compiled by NASA Chief Historian Brian C. Odom (Ph.D., MLIS) and can be accessed through NASA’s servers.

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Posted on by Jason Major

NASA Employees Tell LGBTQ Youth: “It Gets Better”

Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas

“Being gay doesn’t necessarily define you, it’s just one factor of who you are.”

– NASA Johnson Space Center Deputy Chief of Staff

For over 50 years NASA has inspired people of all ages around the world to set their sights above the sky, to believe in the power of innovation and to not only hope for a better future, but to make it happen. Now, in celebration of LGBT Equality Month, team members from NASA’s Johnson Space Center (and a certain former Starfleet helmsman) tell young people struggling with their identity, “it gets better.”

It’s yet another example of NASA’s commitment to inspiration — regardless of your orientation.

The NASA JSC It Gets Better video is a video project created by the “Out & Allied @ JSC Employee Resource Group” of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. It was created as an outreach tool primarily directed at high school and college-aged lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals who are victims of bullying and/or have been affected by bullying. This video sends the message to current and future NASA employees that it is OK to be LGBTQ, and that NASA JSC management supports and encourages an inclusive, diverse workforce in our workplace.

For more info about Johnson Space Center, click here, and learn more about the It Gets Better project here.

Established in 1961 as the Manned Spaceflight Center, NASA’s Johnson Space Center has served as a hub of human spaceflight activity for more than half a century. As the nucleus of the nation’s astronaut corps and home to International Space Station mission operations and a host of future space developments, the center plays a pivotal role in surpassing the physical boundaries of Earth and enhancing technological and scientific knowledge to benefit all of humankind.