The Dec. 24 broadcast of CBC’s The National included, expectably, some Christmas-related stories. One of these was an interview with two Canadian soldiers speaking from Peterson Air Force Base in Winnepeg. The officers told us this was the 45th year that NORAD (the North American Air Defence Command) would be tracking Santa’s annual flight, and that this year Santa would be escorted by two jet fighter planes as he made his way across Canadian skies.
The screen opened up to a shot from the Santa Cam -- a computer graphic simulation of Santa in red with his reindeer, soaring through the sky over Canada, sled full of gifts, flanked on either side by a jet fighter.
It was an odd sight, and I wondered why Santa would need a military escort. Was he in danger? Was Canada? Was Santa -- with his outlandish clothing and long beard -- a security threat in Canadian airspace?
Curious, I went to the web site provided for the kids (www.noradsanta.org) to “track Santa’s progress” over Christmas Eve.
I learned that NORAD, a bi-national American and Canadian military organization, “provides warning of missile and air attack against both of its member nations, safeguards the air sovereignty of North America, and provides air defense forces for defense against an air attack.”
I also discovered that NORAD would monitor Santa using four systems. The North Warning System, a network of 47 radar installations spreading over Northern Canada and Alaska, would establish when Santa was off the ground.
Then a satellite system would go into effect. Using infrared technology, “the same satellites that we use in providing warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America” would track the jolly crew from 22300 miles above the earth. This would be easy because “Rudolph's nose gives off an infrared signature similar to a missile launch.”
Using the satellite data, two fighter jets would scramble to join the chase as Santa entered Canadian air space.
The viewer at home could track the action using the Santa Cam. I opened it up and watched Santa fly past the Capitol in Washington, through the metropolis of Philedelphia, over Canadian waters, and curl around the Eiffel tower and Taj Mahal. I even watched him make a trip up to the International Space Station.
But in his gift-giving journey around the world in 2002, Santa did not visit Afghanistan or Iraq or even the Middle East (although, according to another Christmas-related news story, many stayed away from Bethlehem this year). The closest he got was the Persian Gulf, where from a satellite’s-eye view the Santa Cam swooped down to show Santa cruising past aircraft carriers and military helicopter.
I suppose the children in those parts of the world could expect a different type of gift delivered from a different type of vehicle this year.
The screen opened up to a shot from the Santa Cam -- a computer graphic simulation of Santa in red with his reindeer, soaring through the sky over Canada, sled full of gifts, flanked on either side by a jet fighter.
It was an odd sight, and I wondered why Santa would need a military escort. Was he in danger? Was Canada? Was Santa -- with his outlandish clothing and long beard -- a security threat in Canadian airspace?
Curious, I went to the web site provided for the kids (www.noradsanta.org) to “track Santa’s progress” over Christmas Eve.
I learned that NORAD, a bi-national American and Canadian military organization, “provides warning of missile and air attack against both of its member nations, safeguards the air sovereignty of North America, and provides air defense forces for defense against an air attack.”
I also discovered that NORAD would monitor Santa using four systems. The North Warning System, a network of 47 radar installations spreading over Northern Canada and Alaska, would establish when Santa was off the ground.
Then a satellite system would go into effect. Using infrared technology, “the same satellites that we use in providing warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America” would track the jolly crew from 22300 miles above the earth. This would be easy because “Rudolph's nose gives off an infrared signature similar to a missile launch.”
Using the satellite data, two fighter jets would scramble to join the chase as Santa entered Canadian air space.
The viewer at home could track the action using the Santa Cam. I opened it up and watched Santa fly past the Capitol in Washington, through the metropolis of Philedelphia, over Canadian waters, and curl around the Eiffel tower and Taj Mahal. I even watched him make a trip up to the International Space Station.
But in his gift-giving journey around the world in 2002, Santa did not visit Afghanistan or Iraq or even the Middle East (although, according to another Christmas-related news story, many stayed away from Bethlehem this year). The closest he got was the Persian Gulf, where from a satellite’s-eye view the Santa Cam swooped down to show Santa cruising past aircraft carriers and military helicopter.
I suppose the children in those parts of the world could expect a different type of gift delivered from a different type of vehicle this year.
posted by blague at
4:57 PM
