Today

Today may refer to:

News media

Radio

Press

Bell X-1

The Bell X-1, designated originally as XS-1, was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics-U.S. Army Air Forces-U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by the Bell Aircraft Company. Conceived during 1944 and designed and built during 1945, it achieved a speed of nearly 1,000 miles per hour (1,600 km/h; 870 kn) during 1948. A derivative of this same design, the Bell X-1A, having greater fuel capacity and hence longer rocket burning time, exceeded 1,600 miles per hour (2,600 km/h; 1,400 kn) during 1954. The X-1 was the first manned airplane to exceed the speed of sound in level flight and was the first of the so-called X-planes, a series of American experimental rocket planes designated for testing of new technologies and often kept secret.

Design and development

Parallel development

In 1942, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Aviation began a top secret project with Miles Aircraft to develop the world's first aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier. The project resulted in the development of the prototype turbojet-powered Miles M.52, designed to reach 1,000 miles per hour (870 kn; 1,600 km/h) (over twice the existing airspeed record) in level flight, and to climb to an altitude of 36,000 ft (11 km) in 1 min 30 sec.

Today FM

Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is a commercial FM radio station which is available nationally in Ireland.

Broadcasting since 17 March 1997 (Saint Patrick's Day), it carries music and talk. Purchased by Denis O'Brien's Communicorp in 2007, Today FM holds a licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland as far as the year 2017. The station recorded pretax profits of €7.4 million on a turnover of €19.4 million in early 2009, more than twice what it was two years previously.

History

The original Independent National Radio franchise holder in Ireland was 100-102 Century Radio, which launched in 1989 and closed down abruptly in late 1991. The Independent Radio and Television Commission did not re-advertise the contract for several years, until 1996.

Radio Ireland Limited, originally owned by John McColgan and Moya Doherty (and because of their involvement, dubbed "Radio Riverdance"), won the contract when it was advertised. Since the autumn of 1998, experienced broadcaster and radio programmer Tom Hardy had been Programming Director of Today FM. He left in January 2013 and was subsequently replaced by Colm O'Sullivan, a former DJ with both Cork's RED FM and Today FM who now serves as the main Programming Director for Today FM.