A global crisis has been averted….. but don’t worry it was only an exercise to cover all eventualities.
Although the global threat remains high even severe in many places one man remains undeterred, dedicated to bringing a little joy and happiness across the globe on the same day every year.
However, his critical role has been recognised as so important to global harmony that the US and Canadian governments that they have tasked their most secret organisation, NORAD, to monitor and track the passage of joy and happiness as it is delivered.
So what do we know about this man?
His name is Santa and he has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth.
According to observations fro the International Space Station and NORAD he travels east to west.
He makes 822.6 visits per second allowing him 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house….. phew….. so the chances of children seeing him are very remote….
This means that Santa’s sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. This makes Rudolf a very special type of reindeer as a conventional reindeer can run at a maximum of about 15 miles per hour.
Who or what is NORAD?
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) is a United States and Canada bi-national organisation charged with the missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America. Aerospace warning includes the monitoring of man-made objects in space, and the detection, validation, and warning of attack against North America whether by aircraft, missiles, or space vehicles, through mutual support arrangements with other commands.
Clearly it is the organisation to track and keep safe Santa as he speeds at over 650 miles per second.
James Abernethy who has worked with NORAD in the past told Security News Desk, “Those guys at NORAD don’t miss anything and have the ability to monitor any and all unusual flying objects which make them ideal for Santa tracking. Of course Santa is well aware of this and over the years has increasingly relied on NORAD to give him over watch and inform people of his whereabouts.”
Follow his progress here: