...During its (still relatively short) time stationed a million miles from Earth, the telescope has been delivering stunning portraits of galaxies laden with black holes; stars brimming with light; and nebulae bursting with history. 

Meanwhile, on the ground, NASA has been forced to grapple with widespread disdain about the fact the telescope bears the name of James Webb, who ran the space agency from 1961 to 1968 and is alleged to have promoted anti-LGBTQ policies during his tenure. Thus, as the JWST got ready last year to head into space, inquiries into those allegations quickly began, provoked by protests from scientists, activists and members of the general public who urged that the trailblazing machine's name be changed. 

This week NASA released documents relating to its investigation into Webb, finding no reason to rechristen the JWST. "Based on the available evidence," NASA said Friday in a release about the 89-page report, "the agency does not plan to change the name of the James Webb Space Telescope."

The conclusion was drawn after a NASA historian reviewed more than 50,000 pages of documents stored in archival collections at a variety of locations, such as the Truman Presidential Library and NASA headquarters. 

The investigation especially focused on two instances related to Webb, both of which happened during what's known as the Lavender Scare.

Beginning in the late 1940s and continuing through the 1960s, the Lavender Scare was a tragic era of American history when thousands of gay employees were either fired or forced to resign solely on the basis of their sexuality...