The n e c e s s i t y f o r system damping and f a u l t s u r v i v a l have imposed requirements on superconducting a l t e r n a t o r s n o t c o n s i d e r e d i n e a r l l e r s t u d i e s . These requirements impinge mostly on the rotor shielding system, and seem t o i n d i c a t e a two-component r o t o r damper/shield. Projections o f machine s i z e and performance i n d i c a t e t h a t even w i t h t h e new requirements, superconducting machines retaln their projected advantage over conventional machines.