Each Christmas Eve since 1958, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has tracked Santa’s highly anticipated flight around the world.
The agency says it does so because they are “the only organization that has the technology, the qualifications, and the people to do it. And, we love it! NORAD is honored to be Santa’s official tracker.”
Per its website, NORAD is a “United States and Canada bi-national organization which defends the homeland through aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America.”
The agency is tasked with monitoring and defending the airspace and waterways from missiles, aircraft and space vehicles. They use their high-tech radars, satellites and jet fighter planes to follow Santa’s flight path as well.
NORAD’s radars detect when Santa leaves the North Pole, at which point their satellites (which are also used to detect missile launches) utilize infrared sensors to track Santa and his reindeer through their body heat.
NORAD says that once Santa enters our airspace, fighter jets greet his fleet and escort him over North America.
Before 1958, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) tracked Santa’s nighttime flight. CONAD was NORAD’s predecessor and started tracking Santa in 1955. Three years later, NORAD took over, per the agency’s site.
Despite NORAD’s consistent tracking, it doesn’t claim to predict exactly when Santa will arrive at a person’s house, but the stories tell us that he only visits the homes of children who believe in him.
According to the NORAD, Santa will only visit a house when the children are asleep, usually between 9 p.m. and midnight. He will skip over houses in which the children are awake and return when they are asleep.
NORAD says Santa’s flight begins over the International Date Line and moves west throughout the night.