When more than 100,000 children call to check on Santa Claus’ journey Christmas Eve, Col. Mike Hayek will be among many answering the phones.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command runs the official Santa tracking call center from Peterson Space Force Base with about 1,000 volunteers from within the Department of Defense and the community.

For all those callers, Hayek and others are prepared with a plenty of Santa facts for curious minds wondering how NORAD keeps track of the jolly elf.

“Our satellites can pick up Santa’s tracks because of the heat signature from Rudolph’s nose. It’s so bright and so intense it is very similar to that of a SpaceX missile taking off,” Hayek said.

The command also relies on radar and other military aircraft that are otherwise charged with protecting North American Air Space to track the sleigh.

This will be Hayek’s first time volunteering for a two-hour shift on the marathon of a day for NORAD. The call center opens at 4 a.m. on Christmas Eve and goes into the evening.

“I was excited to have the opportunity to embrace it and enjoy the Christmas spirit,” he said.

The tradition of NORAD tracking Santa started in 1955 when a local child dialed the number listed for Santa in a Sears ad in the Colorado Springs Gazette. The number was misprinted and the child reached the unlisted phone number of the Continental Air Defense Command, the precursor for NORAD. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup picked up the phone and ended up playing along.

It has since ballooned into with numerous options to track Santa’s east-west travels, online, on social media and of course with a phone call to a volunteer.

Hayek said he has been studying up to answer calls, but his faith in Santa never wavered.

“I never lost belief in Santa Clause, you got to stay young at heart,” he said.

To reach a volunteer call 1-877-HI-NORAD.

You can also find him at the following social media pages:

Facebook: @noradsanta

Twitter: @noradsanta

IG: @noradtrackssanta_official