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NORAD crews ready to track Santa tonight

'It is my first time this year and I am really honoured and excited'
2022-12-14-norad-tracks-santa
Technicians go through their training in preparation for tracking Santa Claus on Christmas Eve once again. Photo courtesy Corporal Rob Ouellette, Imagery Technician.

The Voodoo Flight crew in the Sgt. David L. Pitcher Building at CFB North Bay is preparing for what many children feel is the most important mission of the year.  

The 21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron is on duty on Christmas Eve. 

They will play a key role in assisting and escorting Santa Claus across Canadian airspace tonight. 

Canadian and American members of NORAD have been tracking Santa’s Journey for the past 67 years from various locations in both countries.

Major Vanessa Larochelle-Meilleur is the Mission Crew Commander who is in charge of the important tracking mission which will take place at CFB North Bay. 

"It is my first time this year and I am really honoured," she told BayToday. 

"The mission is similar to what we do every day. We protect North America 365 days a year. But the team wants to make sure to execute properly on the 24 of December so we continuously train for this mission.

"We do some studying about the facts around the sleigh to be more prepared for that event to happen only once a year. The day has come and the crew is really excited. We have not detected Santa yet so we are still on guard but looking forward to it."  

This year, the NORAD techs will use technology to their advantage; tracking Santa's sleigh using radars, satellites, and infrared sensors.

Once he is located within Canadian airspace, Santa will be escorted by RCAF CF-188 Hornet aircraft from both 3 Wing Bagotville, Que. and 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta.

Larochelle-Meilleur says one of the big challenges for the crews is that Santa never files his Christmas flight plan.

She adds, not even a nasty winter storm will stop him.  

"One is we use satellite with infrared technology that is how we identify Rudolph's nose to show up on our system because of all of the heat that it generates," she said.  

"Then we will use our radar from the warning system along the northern coast of Canada. That is how we will pick up the sleigh, pick up the reindeer."

This is not a new mission for NORAD as they have been tracking Santa since way back in 1955. 

Anyone interested in tracking Santa’s journey on Christmas eve can do so by going to the NORAD website at: www.noradsanta.org



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