PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — The North American Aerospace Defense Command launched this year’s Tracks Santa website on Tuesday.
The NORAD Tracks Santa website at www.noradsanta.org marks its 60th anniversary this year.
It features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games and activities.
New this year is the NORAD Headquarters in the North Pole Village, which presents highlights of the program over the last 60 years.
Starting at 1:01 a.m. Pacific Standard Time — 12:01 a.m. Mountian Stand Time — on Dec. 24, website visitors can watch Santa make preparations for his flight.
NORAD’s “Santa Cams” will stream videos on the website as Santa makes his way over various locations.
At 5 a.m. PST, trackers worldwide can speak with a live phone operator to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-446-6723 (1-877-Hi-NORAD) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com.
The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.
In 1955, a local media advertisement directed children to call Santa direct, but misprinted the number, NORAD siad in a press release.
The phone rang through to the crew commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center.
The NORAD program was created in 1958.
Contributors support the Tracks Santa program.