NASA launches investigation into claims ex-chief James Webb oversaw a purge of ...

NASA has launched an investigation into Apollo-era administrator James E Webb's alleged involvement in a purge of LGBT employees prior to the 1969 Moon landing.

The agency has named its $10 billion (£7.3 billion) next generation space telescope after Webb, but there are calls from some scientists for a different name, saying the legacy of his leadership is 'complicated at best, and at worst, complicit with persecution.' 

The James Webb telescope is being hailed as a successor to the Hubble space telescope, able to peer further into the history of our Universe than ever before.

NASA told MailOnline it was 'aware of concerns that have arisen about James E. Webb, and we are working with historians to examine his role in government.'

Webb served as NASA administrator from 1961 to 1968, leaving shortly before the launch of the first crewed Apollo mission. However, a group of scientists say he enacted a government policy to remove any LGBT employees during his reign. 

A campaign to rename the telescope claims the history is already known and clear, and that NASA should get on with renaming it after someone who befits the honour, suggesting Harriet Tubman, who used celestial navigation to lead slaves to freedom.

NASA has so far ignored the calls to rename the telescope, insisting that Webb's work as administrator 'laid the groundwork for today's accomplishments'. 

The telescope will launch for its orbit between Earth and the sun as early as October 31 on a European Space Agency (ESA) Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. 

An ESA spokesperson told MailOnline the agency was 'aware of the discussion' around the name and was keeping a close loop with NASA - 'as diversity is taken very seriously in both agencies.'

James E Webb was born in 1906 and was the second appointed administrator of NASA, serving as the head of the space agency for most of the 1960s. 

He oversaw NASA from the start of the Kennedy administration, including the Mercury and Gemini missions, leaving just before the first crewed Apollo flight. 

While working at NASA he was responsible for implementing a federal policy that purged LGBT people from the NASA workforce. This is a policy he would have been aware of while at the State department, before taking over at the space agency. 

What isn't clear is whether he was actively homophobic himself, whether he was merely complicit, or whether he pushed back against the federal policy. 

NASA says it has appointed a historian to investigate his legacy, including a deep study of all correspondents and documents from his time as administrator. 

His push to put science first during his tenure at NASA made him popular with many scientists, with NASA saying this has created a lasting legacy. 

This is why the agency confirmed in 2002 that the then titled Next Generation Space Telescope would be named after James E Webb.

The telescope has been in development since 1996 and its budget has risen from an initial $500 million to just under $10 billion today. 

'The agency made the naming decision in recognition of Webb’s role in retaining an active science program at NASA in the agency's early years,' a spokesperson said.

'Webb's work as administrator laid the groundwork for today's accomplishments, and science remains a critical part of NASA's work: to understand the universe, advance exploration, and inspire the next generation.'

However, some within the agency, and others that might be working with data from the telescope, say this nostalgia isn't enough to counter his role in the purging.