NASA Tracks Santa as Space Station Crew Sends Holiday Greetings
Santa Claus and his reindeer will have some expert help
this Christmas Eve, as they streak around the world to
deliver joy and gifts to children everywhere. NASA flight
controllers in Houston’s Mission Control Center will watch
over Santa throughout the night, just as they watch over the
International Space Station and its crew every day.
NASA’s Santa Tracker will be available beginning at 4 p.m.
EST Dec. 24 on the Internet at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/tracking/index.html
Updates on Santa’s progress will be posted on NASA’s
spaceflight website every two hours as Mission Control
Houston monitors his rounds:
From on board the Space Station, the Expedition Six crew —
Commander Ken Bowersox, NASA Science Officer Don Pettit and
Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin — will send a special
holiday message to the world. They will also talk about
NASA’s plans to track Santa Claus.
The crew’s holiday message will air on NASA Television
beginning Friday, Dec. 20, as part of the daily Videofile
program. Air times on Dec. 20 are noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9
p.m., midnight; and Dec. 21, 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. EST.
NASA TV programming is available through AMC2 (formerly
referred to as GE2), transponder 9C. The frequency is 3880
MHz with an orbital position of 85 degrees west longitude,
with audio at 6.8 MHz.
