HEO Space Demonstrates High-Resolution Imaging with 'Santa's Sleigh' Image During NORAD Anniversary

On Christmas Eve 2025, HEO Space, a firm specializing in high-resolution orbital photography, released an image humorously captioned as capturing a 'Santa's sleigh test launch.' The timing coincided with the 70th anniversary of the formal NORAD Tracks Santa program, which monitors Santa Claus's global journey in 2025.

This release served as a strategic marketing demonstration, leveraging the widely recognized holiday theme to highlight advancements in the company's commercial imaging technology, specifically its Non-Earth Imaging (NEI) services. HEO Space, which focuses on imaging objects in Earth orbit using partner satellites, recently achieved a significant milestone with the deployment of its Holmes Mk2 sensor into a higher Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

This deployment followed the company receiving the first Tier-3 license from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a commercial optical camera authorized to operate above 800 kilometers. According to NOAA's Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA), the Tier-3 license is granted to systems capable of collecting data that is not substantially different from data already available from domestic or foreign entities. The Holmes Mk2 sensor, part of the LEO Express 3 mission, launched aboard Impulse Space's Mira spacecraft on November 28, 2025, marking the debut of the company's Mk2 sensor class.

HEO Space’s high-resolution imaging capabilities have previously been demonstrated by capturing close-range imagery of large orbital assets, including the International Space Station (ISS), China's Tiangong space station, the Hubble Space Telescope, and tracking space debris. The Holmes Mk2 sensor features notable upgrades over its predecessor, including a 200% increase in field of view and enhanced sensor components for a better signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in sharper images even under challenging lighting. Furthermore, the frame rate increased from 14 frames per second (fps) to 100 fps, which mitigates motion blur for fast-moving objects and allows for short video recording.

In parallel with this space technology development, NORAD marked 70 years of its Santa tracking program, which began accidentally in 1955 when a child misdialed the operations center of NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after seeing an incorrectly printed department store advertisement. For the 2025 70th anniversary, NORAD introduced a web-based calling option that supports virtual translation services in over 200 languages, facilitating connections with trackers globally.

NORAD, a joint United States and Canada organization responsible for aerospace warning, control, and maritime warning for North America, continues its primary mission while adding this specialized function on Christmas Eve. This juxtaposition highlights the contrast between a deeply rooted cultural tradition and the increasingly sophisticated advancements in commercial space surveillance technology.