WEBVTT 00:02.150 --> 00:03.610 - [Interviewer] Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, 00:03.610 --> 00:05.570 and Santa will be delivering gifts. 00:05.570 --> 00:09.190 And NORAD based in Colorado Springs will be tracking 00:09.190 --> 00:10.560 his every move. 00:10.560 --> 00:11.700 We're joined now over the phone 00:11.700 --> 00:14.720 with Preston Schlachter with NORAD. 00:14.720 --> 00:16.713 Preston, thanks so much for joining us. 00:18.350 --> 00:21.110 - Oh my pleasure, thanks for having us. 00:21.110 --> 00:21.943 - [Interviewer] Absolutely. 00:21.943 --> 00:24.020 I know this is a very busy time of year, 00:24.020 --> 00:27.083 not only for Santa, but for NORAD as well. 00:29.260 --> 00:32.840 - Oh absolutely, we're in the final hours 00:32.840 --> 00:35.170 of making our preparations to track Santa 00:35.170 --> 00:38.240 as he starts his yuletide journey around the world. 00:38.240 --> 00:40.110 Right now, we're just finalizing things here 00:40.110 --> 00:43.750 in the Operations Center to support the 1500 volunteers 00:43.750 --> 00:46.470 that we expect to help us track... 00:47.900 --> 00:49.293 Santa Claus on the 24th. 00:50.750 --> 00:53.830 - [Interviewer] Wow, 1500 volunteers, that is incredible. 00:53.830 --> 00:56.750 Now how long will it take Santa to deliver gifts 00:56.750 --> 00:57.800 all around the world? 01:00.060 --> 01:02.010 - It'll take him the full 24 hours. 01:02.010 --> 01:04.010 We'll start tracking him as soon as he takes off 01:04.010 --> 01:05.280 from the North Pole. 01:05.280 --> 01:08.910 And our call center begins, or starts operations, 01:08.910 --> 01:13.010 at the 400, or 0400, that's 4:00 a.m. in the morning 01:13.010 --> 01:15.660 on 24 December, and we'll continue our operations 01:15.660 --> 01:18.913 all the way to midnight on the 24th. 01:20.320 --> 01:22.530 - Preston, where does Santa go first, 01:22.530 --> 01:25.233 and what time will he be here in Southern Colorado? 01:27.310 --> 01:30.130 - Well, when Santa Claus takes off from the North Pole, 01:30.130 --> 01:33.230 he flies just west of the International Date Line, 01:33.230 --> 01:37.191 and continues a north south route as he goes 01:37.191 --> 01:40.246 around the world, traveling east to west. 01:40.246 --> 01:42.210 When he comes into Colorado Springs, 01:42.210 --> 01:45.178 we can expect him to be here between nine and midnight, 01:45.178 --> 01:46.960 but only if the kids are asleep. 01:46.960 --> 01:49.410 If they're not asleep, then he'll come back 01:49.410 --> 01:50.410 later when they are. 01:51.560 --> 01:53.530 - [Interviewer] I was gonna say, I know Santa will only 01:53.530 --> 01:57.069 stop at homes where the little boys and girls are sleeping. 01:57.069 --> 01:59.766 How can we track Santa along with you? 01:59.766 --> 02:01.016 - That's right. 02:02.260 --> 02:03.710 Well there's lots of ways to track Santa. 02:03.710 --> 02:06.020 So, you can call us here at our call center, 02:06.020 --> 02:09.470 1-877-HI-NORAD. 02:09.470 --> 02:12.750 Our website, you can go to our website right now, 02:12.750 --> 02:13.860 NORADSANTA.org. 02:13.860 --> 02:15.860 We're not tracking him yet, but you can play games, 02:15.860 --> 02:18.280 you can learn a little bit about what NORAD is, 02:18.280 --> 02:20.380 how the tradition got started. 02:20.380 --> 02:22.990 You can also go to our Facebook and Twitter pages, 02:22.990 --> 02:26.840 as well as Instagram, and track him with us there. 02:26.840 --> 02:29.710 And then you can also use your OnStar device 02:29.710 --> 02:32.773 or Alexa device to track him as well. 02:34.112 --> 02:35.940 - [Interviewer] We're going on screen right now 02:35.940 --> 02:38.930 to look at your website where people can track Santa. 02:38.930 --> 02:40.870 What are your crews doing right now, Preston, 02:40.870 --> 02:44.033 to gear up for this exciting time, for New Years Eve? 02:46.240 --> 02:47.870 - Well they're getting really excited, right? 02:47.870 --> 02:50.320 I mean, we're just a few hours away 02:51.270 --> 02:53.300 from Santa's liftoff. 02:53.300 --> 02:55.460 So we're testing, we're making sure all 02:55.460 --> 02:57.730 of our computer screens are up and running. 02:57.730 --> 03:00.493 We got live coms and everything's good to go. 03:02.370 --> 03:03.790 - [Interviewer] Well we sure appreciate your help 03:03.790 --> 03:06.090 tracking Santa, and all the work that you do 03:06.090 --> 03:07.400 year round at NORAD. 03:07.400 --> 03:10.250 Preston, thank you so much for joining us over the phone. 03:11.730 --> 03:13.340 - Thank you, it's a pleasure talking to you today, 03:13.340 --> 03:15.320 and Happy Holidays. 03:15.320 --> 03:17.520 - [Interviewer] Absolutely, Merry Christmas.