(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — For the 68th year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) based out of Peterson Space Force Base will begin tracking jolly old St. Nick’s journey to deliver presents to children across the globe on Christmas Eve.
NORAD began tracking Santa before it was even NORAD–back then, in 1955, it was NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). NORAD replaced CONAD in 1958 and took over the very important mission of tracking Santa’s flight around the world, and it has been tracking Santa every year since!
The tradition began in 1955 when a child looking to reach Santa mistakenly called the unlisted number of CONAD’s Operations Center in Colorado Springs, and now NORAD keeps its highly trained, high-tech eyes on the sky for any sign of the big man and his own team of highly trained reindeer.
New this year, NORAD Tracks Santa (NTS) has moved to a new operations center and call center, in Hangar 123 at Peterson. Also new this year, an additional language is offered on the NTS website, along with an arcade of online games, festive music, and more.
NTS program manager 1st Lt. Sean Carter said tracking Santa one night a year is an extra special assignment that is taken seriously, just like the daily NORAD mission of aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning. At the end of it all, though, he said there is one thing that makes the NTS mission special, successful, and come to life each Dec. 24 – the people.
“The outpouring of support and camaraderie that flood our phone lines and inboxes serve as a reaffirmation of the holiday spirit and why we work throughout the year to keep this program alive,” Carter said. “As with last year, I’m looking forward to the collaboration between the military members, community volunteers, and corporate contributors that make tracking Santa a reality.”
On Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, you can reach NORAD by calling 1(877) HI-NORAD (446-6723), downloading the NORAD Tracks Santa app for Android or Apple devices, and by visiting NORADSanta.org.
