During a close encounter with the International Space Station Thursday, St. Nick cruised by the outpost known by the radio call sign "Alpha" -- in an orbital toboggan powered by Dasher, Dancer, Donner and Vixen; Comet, Cupid, Prancer and Blitzen.

The Space Station as seen by the approaching the shuttle Discovery

"Houston, Alpha. Wed like to report an unexpected sighting that just took place nearby the station about 200 miles (322 kilometers) out in space, in orbit," outpost commander Bill Shepherd told colleagues at NASAs Mission Control Center in Houston.

"We had a strange object come alongside: Eight reindeer and a sleigh, driven by a jolly old guy in a red suit," Shepherd said.

Fearing the old elf was flying too fast through a construction zone, Shepherd told ground controllers that Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko flashed up a sign in an outpost window:

"Speed Limit 17,500 miles per hour," it read.

"We held up our construction sign so he would try to stay clear. And he just laughed," Shepherd said. "And we could hear on the radio as he passed us, `Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday."

Launched October 31 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the stations first full-time crew which also includes cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev boarded the outpost November 2. Ever since then, the trio has been working hard to get crucial station systems up and running.

Perhaps buoyed by the Santa flyby, the Expedition 1 crew took time out of their busy day to beam down holiday greetings to the six billion people on Earth.

"As the most forward deployed citizens of the planet at this moment, we the first Expedition Crew aboard Space Station Alpha, send our holiday greetings to Earth," Shepherd said.

"We are well-started on our journey of exploration and discovery, building a foothold for men and women who will voyagefar away from our home planet. We are opening the gateway to space for all humankind," he said.

Said Krikalev: "On this night I would like to share with you all our good fortune on this space adventure; our wonder and excitement as we gaze on the Earths splendor; and our strong sense that the human spirit to do, to explore, to discover has no limit."

"We would like to send you our wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday," Gidzenko chimed in.

"And the hope," added Shepherd, "that our feelings of good will and purpose on board Alpha may enrich the holiday spirit for all on the good planet Earth."

Officials on the ground, meanwhile, said both the shuttle runway at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the skid strip at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Station will remain open Christmas Eve.

"Both of these landing strips can be used to support a pit stop for Santa and his team while in the central Florida area," said Bob Bryan, an airfield manager with Space Gateway Support, a NASA contractor at KSC and the air station.

The two runways also will be available if a blown reindeer hoof forces Santa to make an emergency landing.