Plenty of festive holiday songs talk about Santa Claus and his loyal team of flying reindeer, but they don't tell us about his travel schedule. We know he'll surprise us with gifts and goodies sometime between bedtime and the time we wake up, but most of us have to wait and wonder where Santa Claus is.
Is that him on the neighbor's roof, or is that just your imagination?
Luckily, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa to update excited children (and adults) worldwide about the location of their favorite jolly toymaker. NORAD has been tracking Santa's annual flight since 1955 after taking over this special mission from the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD).
NORAD coordinates with Santa's Elf Launch Staff to confirm his yearly launch time, but once he takes off, Santa controls where he goes; all NORAD can do once he's started his travels is track him using radar, satellites, and jet fighters.
While tracking Santa is an important task for NORAD, it isn't the only thing this organization does. NORAD tracks all airplanes, space launches, and missiles that fly around or within North America. In fact, the reason they started tracking Santa is because they noticed him flying around while watching the skies!
If you're curious about Santa's location on December 24th, make sure to check out the Santa Tracker to find out where he is. If you'd rather talk to someone at NORAD to find out where Santa is, you can call the NORAD Operations Center any time between 4AM and 12AM MST on December 24th at 1-877-446-6723. Just make sure not to stay up too late tracking Santa!
Happy holidays, modeling enthusiasts! We here at the AMA hope you have a festive end to 2022!
