Nearly seventy years ago, in the midst of the Cold War, a five-year-old child accidentally called a top-secret emergency line reserved for the U.S. president and a four-star general.
The innocent request? A chat with none other than Sinterklaas.
“Hello, is this Santa Claus?” he asked Col. Harry Shoup, stationed at the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, when he answered the confidential line in early December 1955, expecting the worst.
A call to the emergency line meant only one thing: the outbreak of World War III. Only one other person – a four-star general at the Pentagon – had access to the hotline number.
That mischievous wrong dial ultimately led to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) most unique mission: the Santa Tracker.
This year marks NORAD's 68th Christmas tracking Santa.
“Hello, is this Santa Claus?” he asked Col. Harry Shoup, who was stationed at the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs when he answered the confidential line in early December 1955 — he expected the worst
The boy's mother revealed the source of the confusion: a Sears ad showing a phone number to call Santa
Nearly seventy years ago, in the midst of the Cold War, a five-year-old child accidentally called a top-secret emergency line reserved only for the U.S. president and a four-star general.
Shoup's family revealed that their strict father was far from amused when he initially answered the phone — and was reportedly “annoyed” and “upset” because he thought it was a joke, according to a 2014 NPR interview.
But when the child started crying, Shoup realized it was a mistake and switched gears.
The boy's mother revealed the source of the confusion: a Sears ad showing a phone number to call Santa.
When Shoup entered the command center on Christmas Eve, he found a drawing of Santa's sleigh on the tracking board. His pilots had amusingly depicted Santa Claus and his reindeer coming over the North Pole.
Shoup then playfully called a radio station and stated, “This is the commander of the Combat Alert Center, and we have an unidentified flying object.” Well, it looks like a sled.”
Soon, radio stations started calling him every hour asking, “Where is Santa Claus now?”
Its digital reach has grown from a tracker website to social media, attracting millions of visitors from over 200 countries and now available in Korean among the growing list of languages
In recent decades, NORAD's Santa mission has expanded, with volunteers fielding approximately 130,000 calls annually
Every day, NORAD tracks planes, rockets, space launches and anything else flying in or around the North American continent
Over the decades, NORAD's Santa mission has expanded, with volunteers today fielding approximately 130,000 calls per year.
Its digital reach has grown from a tracker website to social media, attracting millions of visitors from more than 200 countries and is now available in Korean, one of a growing list of languages.
Today, NORAD Tracks Santa is a multimedia experience that goes live every December 1 and offers a website, games, videos, books and more. Amazon's Alexa service even pushed NORAD Tracks Santa updates through the Echo last year.
Shoup's children unanimously agreed that starting the Santa tracker was the accomplishment their father was most proud of in his career.
In his later years, Shoup received letters from people around the world thanking him for his sense of humor, which he kept in a locked briefcase “as if it were top secret information.”
NORAD is a joint United States-Canada organization that defends the continent against potential incoming airborne threats 365 days a year.
Its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), began tracking Santa Claus in 1955.
NORAD replaced CONAD in 1958 and took over the mission of tracking Santa's flight around the world, and has done so every year since.
Every day, NORAD tracks planes, rockets, space launches and anything else flying in or around the North American continent.
On Christmas Eve, they take on the momentous task of following Sinterklaas on behalf of everyone waiting in bed.
Their website states, “Although the tradition of tracking Santa began purely by accident, NORAD continues to track Santa.
'We 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.”
Today, NORAD Tracks Santa is a multimedia experience that goes live every December 1 and offers a website, games, videos, books and more
Their website states: 'Although the tradition of tracking Santa began purely by accident, NORAD continues to track Santa
It also reveals the following: “Based on flight profile data collected by NORAD's radar and satellite tracking systems, NORAD concludes that Santa Claus is likely approximately 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 260 pounds (before cookies).
“We know from photos of fighter planes that he has a generous size (belly), rosy cheeks from sledding in cold weather, and a flowing white beard.”
More than 1,250 NORAD employees participate in the Santa Tracker campaign each year, answering calls and emails about Santa's progress.
The entire operation is made possible by simulation software built by AGI/Ansys.
Ansys simulation software is used to ensure NORAD can safely track Santa as he travels around the world,” Adam Gorski, an aerospace engineer at Ansys Government Initiatives, told Space.com.
'Ansys simulations allow NORAD satellites to detect the heat from Rudolph's nose, and radars to track Santa's sleigh high in the sky.
'Our simulations are also used to help Santa's elves carry out a number of aerodynamic analyzes on his sleigh designs throughout the year.'