 The organization that preceeded NORAD was called Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD. CONAD started tracking Santa Claus in 1955 after a local newspaper printed an incorrect phone number for a Santa "hotline." The number turned out to be the Operations hotline for CONAD. After receiving so many calls from children wanting to know where Santa was, CONAD decided to carefully check its Northern radars for possible contact with unknown objects. Sure enough, several strange objects were detected leaving the North Pole. Since 1957, NORAD has made a point of checking radar and satellite data for indications of Santa Claus leaving the North Pole. With 44 years of experience, NORAD has become good at tracking aircraft entering North America, detecting worldwide missile launches and tracking the progress of Santa. This is how we do it today:
One of the missions of NORAD is to provide warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America. U.S. Space Command maintains a satellite system known as the Defense Support Program or DSP. These satellites sit in a geo-synchronous orbit at 22,300 miles above the earth. The DSP satellites have infrared sensors, meaning they can see heat. When a rocket or missile is launched, a tremendous amount of heat is produced - enough for the satellites to see them. NORAD also relies on a ground-based sensor system based throughout the world that can track a rocket's progress. |
