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NORAD Tracks Santa: A Cesium-Powered Christmas Tradition 

Luke McKinstry

This year, NORAD Tracks Santa turns 70.  

Its origin story is as mythical as Santa himself: A 1955 Sears ad advertised a Santa hotline. A single number was misprinted, leading to a call to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center in search of Santa Claus. The rest is history, with North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) taking over responsibility from CONAD in 1958. Over the years, the Santa-tracking process has become more elaborate, including visualizing the jolly old elf’s real-time location in 3D with CesiumJS. 

Each year, NORAD estimates, the hotline receives more than 380,000 calls to the call center at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, and the NORAD Tracks Santa website gets visitors from over 200 countries.  

Cesium is proud to have been a part of the program since 2012.  

 Tracking such a magical feat requires serious coordination and cooperation.  

The effort includes several systems that offer a real-time snapshot of Santa’s whereabouts:  

  • Radar: The North Warning System, a powerful radar system with 47 installations across North America, is the first to detect Santa's departure from the North Pole.  
  • Satellites: NORAD uses a network of satellites in geosynchronous orbit to track Santa.  
  • Santa Cams: A network of high-speed digital cameras, strategically placed around the world, captures images and videos of Santa and his sleigh.  
  • Fighter jets: Canadian and American NORAD pilots have the unique honor of escorting Santa for a portion of his journey. 
3D model of Santa, his red sleigh, and eight reindeer flying over green, brown, and blue terrain in CesiumJS in the NORAD Tracks Santa app. The scene includes snowflakes and a dark sky.

Kris Kringle takes flight over Japan in the NORAD Tracks Santa app.

Here’s a look under the hood at how Cesium helps bring this experience to life: We combine 3D terrain, high-resolution satellite imagery, a NASA star map, a 3D model of Santa’s sleigh, and more in CesiumJS for efficient, accurate streaming on the web.  The lighting is dynamic, reflecting the position of the sun throughout December 24.  

Plus we receive and integrate real-time positional data from NORAD's tracking systems to make sure you know where The Big Guy is at any moment. Cesium enables features like camera flights that smoothly transition to different locations and billboards that provide information about the places Santa has visited. You can take a deeper look at the technology here.  

We look forward to our continued role in this heartwarming tradition that brings joy to millions.    

Track all the jolly action on December 24 at the Official NORAD Tracks Santa website.