The Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) began tracking Santa Claus in 1955 and did so until CONAD was replaced with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in 1958.
NORAD’s mission, 24hours a day, 365 days a year, is to track airplanes, missiles, space launches and anything else that flies in or around the North American continent – including Santa’s sleigh and Rudolph with “his infrarednose- so-bright” signature. While the tradition of tracking Santa began purely by accident, it became an annual tradition after a child accidentally dialed the unlisted number of CONAD Operations Center. The director of operations, Col. Henry Shoup, answered the phone and instructed his staff to check the radar for Santa, thus beginning a tradition. NORAD has dutifully tracked Santa since 1958 for millions of children and families across the globe.
Even though NORAD tracks Santa, only Santa knows his route, which means they cannot predict where and when he will arrive at a specific house, but going by history, it appears he arrives only when children are asleep. In most countries, it seems Santa arrives between 9 p.m. and midnight on Dec. 24. If children are still awake when he arrives, he moves on to other houses and returns later after they fall asleep.