Each December, millions of families around the world follow along as Santa Claus makes his Yuletide trek around the globe, but the holiday tradition wouldn't be possible without the North American Aerospace Defense Command's Santa Tracker.
The Santa-tracking enterprise has grown into a massive volunteer operation that started by accident decades ago.
Kids across the U.S. have grown accustomed to following Santa's journey by tracking his flight path online or by making an old-fashioned phone call to NORAD to find out where his next stop is. They're also able to play games and watch videos of his progress through the mobile "NORAD Tracks Santa" app.
All of this is possible, of course, thanks to hard-working personnel at NORAD. They start the task of tracking Santa each November, when NORADSanta.org starts getting inquiries from families. About 50 national and local contributors help set up the website, apps and phone lines, while about 1,000 uniformed personnel, War Department civilians, their families and supporters volunteer their time on Christmas Eve to answer questions on St. Nick's whereabouts.
High-Tech Tools Required
NORAD protects the skies over North America all year long, so it makes sense that the command is especially equipped for this mission.
NORAD's powerful radar system, called the North Warning System, has 49 installations across Alaska and northern Canada. As soon as that radar system picks up on Santa departing from the North Pole, NORAD tracks him using infrared sensors from globally integrated satellites that normally allow NORAD to see heat from launched rockets or missiles. As Santa flies through the skies, satellites track his position by detecting Rudolph's nose, which gives off an infrared signature similar to that of a missile.
NORAD also uses U.S. Air Force F-15, F-16, F-22 and Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighter jets to track Santa. On Christmas Eve, fighter pilots rendezvous with Santa off the coast of Newfoundland to welcome him to the continent. They then safely escort him through North American airspace until he's ready to return to the North Pole.
The operation has become a well-oiled machine over the years, but it wasn't always. In fact, the whole thing began as a fluke.
An Accident Becomes Tradition
In 1955, the folks at the previously named Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado were working a typical night shift when Air Force Col. Harry Shoup received a phone call from a child in Colorado Springs. Using directions he found in a local newspaper ad, the boy tried to call Santa directly. However, the number in the ad was printed incorrectly, so instead, he called CADCOC.
Shoup could have been a scrooge about the whole thing, but he wasn't. He entertained the boy's call as well as the rest of the calls that came through because of the misprinted number. Throughout the night, Shoup and his operators answered the calls, and thus began a new tradition.
The role of tracking Ole St. Nick was handed to NORAD when the command was formed in 1958, and it's been getting more popular and more technologically savvy ever since. Aside from calling in to talk, kids can now use social media and a mobile app to follow Santa. Artificial intelligence services help track him, and the website NORADSanta.org offers a countdown clock, games and videos available in several languages.
New in 2025, people can call into the operations center directly through a free calling option on the website, allowing millions more families overseas to call NORAD for updates on Santa's journey.
The tracking of Santa is a holiday tradition around the world. On Christmas Eve in 2024, NORADSanta.org received approximately 32 million views from around the globe, while call center volunteers answered about 380,000 calls. The @noradsanta Facebook page currently has 1.9 million followers, more than 207,500 follow along at @noradsanta on X and about 29,500 people follow @NoradTracksSanta_Official on Instagram.
The call center opens at 6 a.m. EST Dec. 24. Kids can call 877-Hi-NORAD (877-446-6723) to find out Santa's location, or use the above website, mobile app or social media. But officials warned that Santa only comes if children are asleep, so make sure they get into bed early, so he doesn't miss your house.
Happy tracking, everyone!