Charles “Ted” Paludan, 94, of Huntsville, passed away November 7, 2025. He was born in Seattle, WA, and graduated from Montgomery County High School in 1947.
After graduating from Auburn (Alabama Polytechnic) University in 1951, he received his doctorate in Geography from the University of Denver in 1975. Ted began his career at Redstone Arsenal in 1951 with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. He transferred to NASA where he worked from 1960 to January of 1979. Following his retirement from NASA, he was Professor Emeritus at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma.
Ted was an enthusiastic proponent of space exploration. He was a charter member of the Von Braun Astronomical Society.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Reba Lane King, and son, Michael King Paludan.
Survivors include his son, Ronald Verne Paludan; daughter-in-law, Audrey Paludan; and grandchildren, Lucas, Ashley, Austin, Mark and Christine.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church with Dr. Karl Kling officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Von Braun Astronomical Society (https://vbas.org/) or the Huntsville, Alabama L5 Society (https://www.hal5.org/).
