In 1955 a local store in Colorado Springs accidentally printed the Continental Air Defense Command's phone number as the "Santa hot line number". The staff did not want to disappoint all of the children who called, so they took on the role of "Santa Monitors". After ADC became NORAD, they continued their yearly tradition.
During the first few decades of it's existence, NORAD simply provided it's tracking services over the phone lines. Children would call the number and find out exactly where Santa was at any particular time.
Once the Internet and World Wide Web became significant, NORAD created a web site called the "NORAD Tracks Santa Website". Every year they feature a very large amount of Santa related data, multimedia shows, pictures and just about everything else a kid needs to know about the Christmas figure.
Every year this website tracks Santa using it's sophisticated systems. The site features "photographs" taken of Santa and his sleigh from jets and satellites.
Most delightful of all are the live action videos showing Santa's sleigh overtaking a jet, circling the Eiffel Tower and flying under a bridge in Australia. There is also a "SantaCam" which shows pictures of Santa as he does his rounds.
The site is operated entirely by donations from various people and companies. IBM has donated the server and operates it themselves. The work is done by volunteers from various organizations. Just imagine, all of this fun and it doesn't cost us taxpayers one dime.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.