Track Santa on Radar - Follow Santa's Sleigh From the North Pole

Track Santa on Radar
Follow Santa's Sleigh From the North Pole

Fifty years ago the tradition of tracking Santa on radar began. It all started with a misprinted telephone number in an advertisement for a Sear Roebuck & Co. store in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The advertisement was for children to call Santa on a special hotline, but instead of reaching Santa, the misprinted number put the children through to the CONAD Commander in Chief's operations hotline. Colonel Harry Shoup was the Director of Operations at that time and received the first Santa call on Christmas Eve 1955. When Colonel Shoup realized what had happened he had his staff check radar data for signs of Santa, and each child that called was given updates on Santa progress from the North Pole.

In 1958, Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command which is commonly called NORAD. They inherited the tradition from CONAD and began tracking Santa that same year. NORAD has four high-tech systems that they use to track Santa, they are radar, satellites, Santa Cams and jet fighter aircraft. They begin on Christmas Eve by closely checking the radar for any signs that Santa is leaving the North Pole. The moment the radar indicates that Santa has lifted off, NORAD begins using the satellite system. The satellites use infrared sensors to detect the heat from Rudolph's red nose, thus they are able to follow his flight around the world. In 1998, NORAD put their Santa Tracking program on the Internet and began using Santa Cams. These cameras are used only once a year, that is on Christmas Eve. The Santa Cams provide both video and still images that are downloaded to the NORAD web site for everyone around the world to see. The last system that they use is the NORAD jet fighter. These jet fighter pilots provide escorts for Santa throughout Canada and the United States, and about a dozen of these fighters have Santa Cams on board. While they make sure Santa has a safe journey, they also get the thrill of flying with him and his famous reinder Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph.

NORAD has many volunteers from Cheyenne Mountain and Peterson Air Force Base that spend part of Christmas Eve at the Santa Tracking Operations Center. They personally answer phone call from the thousands of children who call in and give them updates on Santa's progress. NORAD also helps the media from around the world by providing they with updates as well. The NORAD website is visited by millions each year and the information is now being provided in six languages.

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