NORAD is Ready to Track Santa’s Flight for the 67th Year

FROM PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. Defending North America is the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) #1 priority. NORAD monitors and defends North American airspace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

But on December 24, NORAD has one additional extra-special  mission: That of tracking Santa Claus as he makes his way across the globe, delivering presents to children. 

This is NORAD’s 67th year tracking Santa and it’s a tradition the Command is proud to continue every year.

The NORAD Tracks Santa website (www.noradsanta.org) is already live. It features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, movie theatre, special Christmas-themed music, a webstore, and more besides. 

The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese. 

The official NORAD Tracks Santa app is also in the Apple App and Google Play stores, so parents and children can count down the days until Santa’s journey on their smart phones and tablets. Tracking opportunities are also offered through social media on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, as well as on partner platforms: Bing, Amazon Alexa and OnStar.

Starting at 4 a.m. EST on December 24, website visitors can see updates as Santa makes preparations for his flight. Then, at 6 a.m. EST, trackers worldwide can call to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialling the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) where they will either speak with a live phone operator or hear a recorded update.

NORAD Tracks Santa is truly a global experience, delighting generations of families everywhere. This is due, in large part, to the efforts and services of numerous program contributors. This year’s contributors include:

Space Base Delta 1

Acuity Scheduling

Alaskan NORAD Region

Agingo

Amazon Alexa

Amazon Web Services

Ansys

Avaya

Balsam Hill

Canadian NORAD Region

Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence

CenturyLink

Cesium

Christmas in the Park

Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation

Continental U.S. NORAD Region

CradlePoint

Defense Video & Imagery Distribution Systems

The Elf on the Shelf

Getty Images

Hewlett Packard

Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo

IU Globelink

Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

Meshbox

Microsoft

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Bing

Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific

NASA Space Place

Nashville.Net User Group

Navy Marine Corps Public Health Center

OnStar

Package From Santa

Plantronics

PR Karma

Portable North Pole

Royal Canadian Air Force Band

SciJinks

Shirt Stop

SiriusXM

Six String Soldiers

Snowy the Mouse

Space Foundation

Together We Stand Foundation

U.S. Air Force Band

U.S. Air Force Academy Band

U.S. Air Force Heartland of America Band

U.S. Coast Guard Band

U.S. Department of State Family Liaison Office

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

U.S. Navy Band Northeast

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee

Verizon

NORAD is a United States and Canada bi-national organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for North America. NORAD prevents air attacks against North America, safeguarding the sovereign airspaces of the United States and Canada by responding to unknown, unwanted, and unauthorized air activity approaching and operating within these airspace.