Ira

Ira or IRA may denote:

Ira

Ira may refer to:

Toponymy

IRA

The initials IRA most commonly refer to:

Iraí

Iraí is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

See also

References

Ira (Polish band)

IRA - Polish rock band formed in 1987 in Radom by Jakub Płucisz (guitar), Wojciech Owczarek (drums), Artur Gadowski (vocal, guitar), Dariusz Grudzień (bass) and Grzegorz Wawrzeńczuk (keyboards). They gained a wide popularity in Poland in the early nineties, mainly after releasing the "Mój Dom" album, with the hit title song, which was still during their garage and semi-professional days. They also gained some local popularity amongst the Polish-speaking citizens in the United States, where they lived and worked for few months. After signing a professional contract back in Poland, they released a few albums which didn't prove to be commercially successful (except for the "Mój Dom" follow-up, which was "IRA 1993"), and the band disbanded afterwards. Artur Gadowski started a solo career. He opened for Brian May before his show in Warsaw in September 1998. Artur's solo efforts weren't very successful either, and what success he did gain was largely based on the then legendary status of IRA. A few years later the band reunited, and exists up to now. Once again, they have not attained much popularity, but are well-known amongst hard rock fans in Poland (though they play mainly pop-oriented hard rock), and their concerts are selling rather well.

Kestrel (disambiguation)

A kestrel is a type of bird.

Kestrel may also refer to:

Aerospace, aviation, vehicles

Boats

Computer software

Kestrel (rocket engine)

The Kestrel engine is an LOX/RP-1 pressure-fed rocket engine. The Kestrel engine was developed in the 2000s by SpaceX for upper stage use on the Falcon 1 rocket.

Kestrel was built around the same pintle architecture as the Space X Merlin engine but does not have a turbo-pump and is fed only by tank pressure.

Kestrel is ablatively cooled in the chamber and throat and radiatively cooled in the nozzle, which is fabricated from a high strength niobium alloy. As a metal, niobium is highly resistant to cracking compared to carbon-carbon. According to SpaceX, an impact from orbital debris or during stage separation might dent the metal but have no meaningful effect on engine performance.Helium pressurant efficiency is substantially increased via a titanium heat exchanger on the ablative/niobium boundary.

Thrust vector control is provided by electro-mechanical actuators on the engine dome for pitch and yaw. Roll control (and attitude control during coast phases) is provided by helium cold gas thrusters.

Kestrel (dinghy)

The Kestrel was the first sailing dinghy especially designed to have a fibreglass hull. It was designed in 1955, by Ian Proctor. After a slow start, due to resistance to the new material, the Kestrel grew in popularity. This success led to more and more classes changing their rules to allow fibreglass construction. Today, the class is still a popular choice, particularly for 'club' racers and training schools. The design has been updated by Phil Morrison and is being built by Hartley Laminates.

Design

The 'v' shaped bow that flared into a strong round-bilged hull under the mast was a direct descendant from existing Ian Proctor Merlin designs. Fibreglass along with the design gave the boat substantial toughness and a smooth regular finish.

History

After its initial design, a few timber Kestrels were constructed as fibreglass technology was still very new. However when construction was converted to fibreglass, as originally intended, take up was slow as there was a mistrust of the new material. It was not until a highly regarded firm in Fordingbridge took up construction that the class started to grow. The firm made the boat for 25 years and introduced a Mark II version.