Passive attitude damping of alternative assembly configurations of Space Station Freedom

Because of the large size of the proposed U.S. Space Station Freedom, a difficulty exists pertaining to the manifest of initial assembly flights. A fully functioning vehicle with communication, control, and reboost capability would be ideal. As a result of the size and weight of Freedom's components, the Space Shuttle is unable to deliver a fully functioning vehicle without the use of heavy, expensive, temporary components such as avionics, propulsion, and control. An alternative lies in the use of passive magnetic dampers.