Air turbine starter with fluid damping assembly

An air turbine starter for starting an engine, comprising:

• a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and an air flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, wherein the housing includes a seal that defines at least a portion of the air flow path;
• a drive shaft rotatably coupled to a turbine defining an axis of rotation, the turbine having circumferentially spaced blades at least partially disposed within the air flow path;
• a first bearing and a second bearing rotatably supporting the drive shaft;
• a bearing support structure located, at least in part, between the first and second bearings and the seal, the bearing support structure comprising:
• a first bearing support structure located between the first bearing and the seal;
• a second bearing support structure located between the second bearing and the seal;
• and
• at least one flexible connector coupling the first bearing support structure to the second bearing support structure;
• a fluid damping assembly comprising one or more conduits that fluidly couple a fluid source to a fluid reservoir, wherein the fluid reservoir includes a fluid cavity at least partially defined by a portion of the bearing support structure;
• and
• an output shaft operably coupled to the turbine by an output gear assembly, wherein the output shaft is selectively operably coupled to the engine, to rotate a portion of the engine.