On Christmas Eve this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will help the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) track Santa Claus. NOAA will maintain a satellite watch of the North Pole for weather conditions and any unusual activity.

NOAA's Satellite Command and Data Acquisition Station in Fairbanks, Alaska, is ready to spot activity at the North Pole. NORAD will answer children's questions on its comprehensive, six-language Santa tracking website at http://www.noradsanta.org. All site material, including the live tracking event, will be available in English, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese.

NORAD will also attempt to set the record straight in regards to outrageous allegations that have been made by several fifth grade students as to the existence of Santa Claus. Seeing is believing and NORAD has perfected its 45-year-old tradition of tracking Santa on Christmas Eve. Visual and audio updates will be posted hourly on the website from midnight December 23rd (EST) to 5:00 a.m. December 25th (EST).

This year NORAD has also enlisted the help of Astronaut Sally Ride and Space.Com to assist with analysis of NORAD's Santa tracking data.

1999 Program

The 1999 NORAD Tracks Santa Team again includes IBM, who will host the site on an extensive network of servers, and Analytical Graphics who created the site and all supporting imagery. In addition, Globelink Services International coordinated the extensive translation required for the website. All the organizations and volunteers who help make this global NORAD Christmas project possible do so at no cost to the taxpayer.

For more information, call Maj Jamie Robertson at (719) 554 5816 or 2608 or 6889.