The best recognised, longest-lived and most prolific space observatory has passed a milestone 20 years of operation.In 1990 on 24 April, the Space Shuttle and crew of STS-31 were launched to deploy the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope into a low-Earth orbit. What followed was one of the most remarkable sagas of the space age.

Hubble’s unprecedented capabilities as one of the most powerful science instruments conceived , and the one most embraced by the public have meant Hubble discoveries have revolutionised nearly all areas of current astronomical research, from planetary science to cosmology.

Its pictures are unmistakably out of this world. At times its starry odyssey has played out like a space soap opera: broken equipment, bleary-eyed primary mirror, even a Space Shuttle rescue/repair mission cancellation. But ingenuity and dedication from Hubble scientists, engineers, NASA and ESA astronauts have allowed the observatory to rebound time and time again. Its crisp vision continues to challenge scientists with exciting new surprises and to enthral the public with ever more evocative colour images.

NASA, ESA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) are celebrating Hubble’s journey of exploration with a stunning new picture. Another exciting component of the anniversary will be the launch of the revamped European website for Hubble, while ESA will sponsor the Hubble Pop Culture Contest that calls for fans to search for examples of the observatory’s presence in everyday life.

The brand new Hubble anniversary image highlights a small portion of one of the largest observable regions of starbirth in the galaxy, the Carina Nebula. Towers of cool hydrogen laced with dust rise from the wall of the nebula.

The scene is reminiscent of Hubble’s classic Pillars of Creation photo of 1995, but even more striking, as it captures the top of a gas and dust pillar, three light-years tall, being eaten away by the light from nearby bright stars and being pushed apart, as infant stars buried inside it fire off jets of gas, seen streaming from towering peaks like arrows sailing through the air.

Hubble fans worldwide are being invited to share the ways in which the telescope has affected them. They can send an e-mail, post a Facebook message or use Twitter or visit the “Messages to Hubble” page, type in their entry and read selections from other messages that have been received. Fan messages will be stored in the Hubble data archive along with the telescope’s many terabytes of science data. Future researchers will be able to read these messages and understand how Hubble had such an impact on the world.

Hubble has looked at more than 30 000 celestial targets, amassed a more than half a million picture archive. Theheroic astronaut-servicing mission to Hubble in May 2009 made the telescope 100 times more powerful than when it was launched. As well as its irreplaceable scientific importance, Hubble brings cosmic wonder to millions of homes and schools daily. For the past two decades the public has co-explored with this wonderful observatory.

Less rapsody, just as enabling
Anadigics  focused on enabling the telecommunications industry's move into fourth-generation (4G) technologies by delivering advanced RF ICs that significantly improve product design and functionality for wireless communications, also delivers the latest technology for broadband and CATV.

"Reaching a silver anniversary is a significant milestone for any technology company, and we take tremendous pride in the innovations we've brought to market over the years," says Mario Rivas, president and CEO Anadigics. "It's an exciting time to be part of the communications industry. Our customers continue to raise the bar in terms of product innovation, new applications, and high speed, reliable connectivity, and we continue to rise to the occasion, delivering quality products to market with the right performance at the right time."

Highlights:
1985: Founded by Ron Rosenzweig, George Gilbert and Charles Huang in Warren, New Jersey and quickly becomes a recognised innovator, producing 3" GaAs wafers for use in radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) designed primarily for military applications, direct satellite broadcasting and later the cable television market.

1988: First company patent issued to Anadigics for current bleeder amplifiers with positive feedback. Most recent Patent No. 7639069: Tunable balanced loss compensation in an electronic filter
ISSUED: December 29, 2009

1993: It becomes the first GaAs IC manufacturer to achieve ISO certification (ISO9001).

1995: It becomes a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ stock market.

1997: It designs and manufactures the world's first commercial dual-band, dual-model GaAs power amplifier for the cellular and PCS market.

1999: Anadigics develops and manufactures the world's first InGaP HBT (indium gallium phosphide heterojunction bipolar transistor) technology on 6" wafers to be used in products for cellular and PCS handsets.

2004:  World first with the development of InGaP-Plus,  first low-cost manufacturable Gallium Arsenide-based BiFET (Bipolar Field Effect Transistor) process that monolithically integrates two types of transistors on the same chipset, enabling high volume production of commercial Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) at minimum cost.

2005: Surpasses the 25m mark in shipping InGaP HBT power amplifiers for LAN applications.


Oh, and Malvern Instruments
Founded in the late 1960s, Malvern Instruments is now a world leading materials characterisation companies, respected for its innovation and leadership in particle characterisation. Its portfolio has been extended with the addition of complementary technologies for rheology and chemical imaging.


1970 the introduction of the Malvern correlator delivered a key component in the world's first laser-based particle size analyser. Since then, numerous innovations in particle size, zeta potential and dispersion technology have helped advance particle science.

1997 as manufacturing industry increased its focus on process optimisation, systems for in-process particle size measurement were introduced. These now include on-line, in-line and at-line analysers.

Malvern's range includes novel techniques for determining particle size and shape in virtually all types of industrial materials. Innovative products for spray characterisation have been added, applications ranging from pharmaceutical nebulizers, nasal sprays and inhalers to fuel injection systems, fire protection equipment and agricultural sprays.

An area of intense R&D has (left) Malvern’s Zetasizer Nano system characterising nano-size particles in biotech, pharma and advanced materials.


2003 acquisition of Bohlin Instruments brought rheology measurement into Malvern’s portfolio. Exploiting the links between particle size, zeta potential and rheology characteristics plays an increasing role in product development, for which Malvern provides instrumentation and expertise.

2006 Spectral Dimensions Inc became part of Malvern Instruments, adding near infra red (NIR) chemical imaging to the portfolio. This exciting technology has many applications, especially in understanding and improving pharmaceutical formulation and production.

2010 Queen's Award In recognition of the company's continuous innovation and development of its award winning Zetasizer Nano range of particle characterization systems.

All these enablers have one thing in common, they are communicators as well.  But where Hubble has Blogs and Tweets and daily followers; Anadigic takes the Facebook, Tweets, and news route, Malvern is only on Twitter by courtesy and it doesn't appear to be on Facebook. Bit of social skills polishing needed here perhaps?