NORAD’s Santa tracker turns 70: How does Santa visit every country in just 24 hours?

NORAD’s Santa tracker turns 70: How does Santa visit every country in just 24 hours?

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, December 24, 2025: This Christmas season marks 70 years of NORAD tracking Santa Claus as he makes his annual journey around the world in a reindeer-powered sleigh. NORAD’s santa tracking began as a holiday mishap in the 1950s and has grown into one of the most enduring Christmas traditions, harmonizing military-grade technology with festive storytelling.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) protects the skies over North America year-round, but every December, it turns its attention to a very different mission, following Santa’s route across the globe.

The operation begins weeks before Christmas. Each November, NORADSanta.org goes live, fielding questions from curious families. Around 50 national and local partners help maintain the website, mobile apps, and phone systems, as per meritalk. On Christmas Eve, the scale ramps up. Nearly 1,000 Canadian and American uniformed service members, Pentagon civilians, family members, and volunteers staff call centers to answer questions about Santa’s location in real time.

Tracking relies on the North Warning System, a network of 49 radar stations spread across Alaska and northern Canada. Once Santa departs the North Pole, NORAD switches to infrared sensors aboard globally integrated satellites. While these sensors are normally used to detect missile launches, officials say they can also pick up the distinctive heat signature from Rudolph’s glowing red nose, which emits an infrared signal “similar to a missile launch.”

NORAD also uses US Air Force F-15, F-16 and F-22 fighter jets, alongside Canadian CF-18 aircraft, to escort Santa along parts of his journey. In recent years, elements of artificial intelligence have also been introduced to help refine Santa’s route.

📷 Santa Cam Preview

One of the most popular features of NORAD Tracks Santa is the Santa Cam. Beginning on December 24, NORAD will release video clips from around the world showing Santa as he passes key locations. These clips are produced using a combination of animation,… pic.twitter.com/e6pUVUmj5F

— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 22, 2025

How NORAD’s santa tracking tradition born?

The annual mission traces its roots back to 1955, when a Colorado Springs newspaper mistakenly printed a phone number for Santa that routed calls to the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. 

Rather than turning children away, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup answered their calls and provided updates on Santa’s whereabouts. The spontaneous gesture quickly became a tradition and eventually evolved into NORAD’s official Santa tracking program.

Does Santa really visit everyone?

According to NORAD, Santa visits every home where children believe in him, ensuring no one is left out on Christmas Eve.

How can Santa travel the world in just 24 hours?

NORAD’s explanation leans into holiday magic. Intelligence reports suggest Santa doesn’t experience time the way humans do. While his journey appears to take 24 hours from Earth, it may last much longer in Santa’s own time-space continuum; in that time, he delivers gifts without rushing.

For comparison, in a real-world scenario, the fastest real-world circumnavigation by an aircraft was completed by the Concorde in 1995, which flew around the globe in 31 hours and 27 minutes, travelling at speeds of over 2,180 km/h. Even that pales in comparison to Santa’s Christmas Eve feat.

How fast is Santa’s sleigh?

Santa’s sleigh is unbelievably fast. According to calculations cited by popular car review channel Carwow, researchers at the University of Arizona estimate that Santa would need to travel at around 650 miles per second to complete his worldwide gift delivery before sunrise on Christmas morning. That speed allows him to cover vast distances in mere moments, making his overnight journey across millions of homes mathematically possible, at least on paper.

How children can track Santa today?

Today, children can follow Santa through NORADSanta.org, social media platforms, and a dedicated mobile app featuring games, videos, and a countdown clock in multiple languages.

The call center opens at 6 a.m. EST on December 24, with children able to call 877-Hi-NORAD (877-446-6723) to get live updates.