NASA once again declines to rename the James Webb Space Telescope

This illustration shows the James Webb Space Telescope as it might appear as it orbits the sun, about a million miles away from Earth. (NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez)

The James Webb Space Telescope will remain The James Webb Space Telescope, despite criticism from some astronomers who refuse to call it that.

They object to honoring a NASA administrator who led the agency at a time when the government persecuted gay workers. But after an extensive review of historical records, NASA now says it "found no evidence that Webb was either a leader or proponent of firing government employees for their sexual orientation."