(NewsNation) — As children patiently await a visit from Santa, they can track him and his reindeer as they make their way around the world delivering presents.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint organization between the U.S. and Canada, is responsible for tracking everything flying in and around the two countries. Around Christmastime, NORAD has a crucial mission: track Santa.
NORAD’s Brigadier General Derek O’Malley joined “NewsNation Prime” to discuss the important mission as a team works to track Santa’s whereabouts.
“We have about 1,000 people here at the headquarters tonight that are responding to phone calls and they’re integrating with our sensors. We have a variety of sensors up north and radars that detect Santa’s launch,” said O’Malley. “After he’s in the air, we have a series of satellites that are integrated, and they use infrared trackers to lock on to Rudolph’s nose.”
“It’s safe to say that Rudolph with his nose so bright is helping us track Santa tonight,” O’Malley said.
You can track Santa’s movements around the world on NORAD’s website.
O’Malley says while NORAD’s day-to-day work is critical, Christmas Eve is a special time for the community.
“There’s no more noble mission than defending our homelands. So we already have a great spirit in doing that important mission. But tonight, bringing family…my family’s here with me, we’ve got a number of volunteers in the community that join us, that are taking calls from children,” O’Malley said.
NORAD has been tracking Santa’s movements through the night and answering children’s calls since 1955. O’Malley says the defense force answered over 260,000 calls last year, and they expect to answer close to 300,000 this year.
The tradition began after a young girl accidentally called the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs in hopes of speaking to Santa after seeing an ad in her local newspaper.