Santa's sleigh under surveillance

Contact: James Rickman, elvis@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9203

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Dec. 21, 2001 -- With a little help from the Nonproliferation and International Security (NIS) Division, children of all ages can track Santa Claus' trek from the North Pole to points around the world on Christmas Eve.

People with access to the World Wide Web can log onto a special Web site beginning at 6 a.m. Monday and track Santa's progress as he makes his way around the world to deliver Christmas cheer and goodwill. The site -- http://santa.lanl.gov -- will give hourly updates of the Jolly Old Elf's progress as he makes his way to Northern New Mexico on Christmas Eve. Those without Web access can listen to hourly reports on radio station KRSN, AM 1490.

"We expect Santa to arrive in Northern New Mexico at around midnight Mountain Standard Time on Christmas Eve," said Diane Roussel-Dupré of Space Data Systems (NIS-3). "Basically, we expect that he'll be chasing the International Date Line in order to make his deliveries at midnight in all locations around the world."

Los Alamos space scientists will use satellite-tracking dishes located in Los Alamos and Fairbanks, Alaska, to monitor Santa's progress as he races around the world delivering presents and goodies to children everywhere. In addition, Los Alamos scientists will keep an eye on St. Nick with sensors on the ALEXIS and FORTE satellites, and the U.S. Air Force with its nine tracking stations around the world also will help monitor the sleigh and its eight tiny reindeer.

"We like to think of our efforts as another way to help spread glad tidings," Roussel-Dupré said. "This is our present to the communities of Northern New Mexico."

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy.