Space colony

A Space Colony is an artificial habitat built by humans, usually at one of the Lagrangian points, to allow human habitation in space. The interior of each space colony usually replicates the surface of the Earth and the colony simulates gravity by rotating.

Universal Century
For a list of known colonies and asteroids in the Universal Century see Universal Century Locations. In the Universal Century timeline, space colonies are placed at the five Earth-Moon Lagrangian point. In most cases, a Lagrangian point is home to more than one group of space colonies. Individual colony pairs are known as Bunches, and a group of colonies that occupy a Lagrangian point are known collectively as a Side. Because Sides sometimes share a single Lagrangian point, it is possible to have two Sides in close orbit to one another. All colonies in the Universal Century are O'Neill "Island 3" type colony cylinders, except for the "close-type" colonies of Side 3. Side 3's colonies are identical in size and shape to the Island 3 design, but doubled the habitable area by removing the large window strips of the Island 3. Instead, close-type colonies were lighted through numerous smaller windows. Following the One Year War, in which the Earth Sphere's population was reduced by more than half, close-type colonies fell out of favor, as the smaller population could easily be maintained in standard Island 3 cylinders. A unique case was the Sweetwater colony at Side 3, which was composed of a closed type fused with an open type. The design was only used once, as it proved unstable, and was simply a means for the Federation to contain Zeon refugees. Sweetwater Colony features prominently in the UC motion picture Char's Counterattack as a Neo-Zeon base.

The first 50 years of the Universal Century were spent building the various colonies and placing them at the Lagrangian points, as well as colonizing the moon. By UC0050 9 billion of the 11 billion people in the Federation live in space colonies or on the moon. In UC0051 the Federation froze plans for additional colony development, and in UC0084 reorganized the remaining Sides into different Lagrangian Points. With the re-organization of the Sides completed, the Federation announced that the status quo would be maintained. In the latter half of the Second Universal Century the construction of new colonies was restarted.

Some colonies were also maintained in orbit around Jupiter, as part of the Jupiter Energy Fleet's Helium-3 mining operation. These colonies were also of the O'Neill Island 3 type. (Mobile Suit Gundam - V Gundam)

Side 1
Side 1 is located at Lagrangian point 5 (L5), and is called Zarn. This side serves as the Earth Federation's space capital. This side was also one of the first colonial bunches the Principality of Zeon attacked during the One Week War. Side 1 is home to several colonies, among them Shangri-La, Londenion, 30 Bunch, Island Blade, Island Ease, and the Pia Albanian colony.

Side 2
Side 2 is called Hatte, and is located at L4. This was one of the first Sides attacked by the Zeon during the One Week War. Some experts speculate that the colony used for Operation: British may have been taken from Side 2. Later, this Side adopted the name Zanscare Empire. Side 2 is home to Island Iffish Bunch 13, the 18th Block, and the 21st Block.

Side 3
Side 3 is located behind the moon, at L2, and is known as Munzo. Side 3 was the only Side to never use the "open-type" colonies. They instead used "closed-type" colonies, which removed the glass "sky" panels and was a completely "solid" cylinder with no open view to space. This allowed each colony to house greater capacities of people.

In UC 0052, Zeon Zum Diekin moved to Side 3 and began to spread his philosophy of Contolism - essentially that the Earth was sacred, and that human beings had a solemn right to protect it. This philosophy also encouraged the people of the space colonies to considered themselves independent from Earth. In UC 0058, under the guidance of Zeon Zum Diekin, Side 3 declared independence from the Earth Federation and formed the Republic of Zeon. In UC 0068, Deikin died under mysterious circumstances, and Degwin Zabi took control of the Republic of Zeon.

Under Degwin's leadership, the Republic of Zeon became a dictatorship, and the National Guard regiments Side 3 maintained became a full fledged army. On August 15, UC 0069, Degwin announced the formation of the Principality of Zeon, setting himself up as the ruler and giving his four children unilateral control of the military forces. Simultaneously with this announcement came severe purges of the remaining followers of Zeon Zum Deikin living in Side 3. Between UC 0069 and UC 0078 the Principality of Zeon began mass-producing various warships and mobile suits in anticipation of an armed conflict with the Federation.

After the One Year War Side 3 came under the control of Prime Minister Darcia Bakharov, who sued for peace. Bakharov and the Federation reached an agreement whereby the Principality of Zeon would surrender, and Side 3 would be allowed to maintain its independence under its previous title, the Republic of Zeon. The deal also allowed the Republic to maintain an armed force which would be subject to periodic inspections by the Federation. Allow the agreement formally ended the war many Principality supports rejected the offer, and choose instead to go into hiding.

Side 3 received additional space colonies in 0082 and again in 0083 as part of the Colony Reclamation Project, which sought to ease the overcrowding of Side 3. Side 3 remained the Republic of Zeon until they rejoined the Federation in UC 0100.

Side 4
Side 4 is known as Mua, and is located at L5. During the reorganization of Sides in UC 0084, Side 4 was moved to L1. Side 4 was one of the first colonies attacked by the Zeon during the One Year War. Some experts have suggested that the colony used for Operation British originated here. Side 4 was eventually reconstructed into the Frontier Side in Gundam F-91 The only known colony in Side 4 is New Manhattan, which was the headquarters of the Illuminati resistance group in G-Saviour.

Side 5
Side 5 is known as Loum, and is located at L1. During the reorganization of the Sides in UC 0084, Side 5 was moved to L4. During the One Year War, this Side became a battle zone when the Principality of Zeon attempted to capture a colony from Side 5 to drop on the earth. When the Earth Federal Space Force intercepted the Zeon, a massive battle for Side 5, later called the Battle of Loum, erupted between the two forces. At the end of the One Year War this area became known as the shoal zone. Watohoat and the Texas Colony were both located in Side 5.

Side 6
Side 6 is known as Riah, and is located at L4. Side 6 declared independence from the Earth Federation on April UC0077, and thanks to backing from the Principality of Zeon, succeeded in gaining independence, at which point this Side adopts the name Riah Republic. Unlike Side 3, which went to war to claim total independence from the Earth Federation, Side 6 maintained diplomatic ties with the Federation, and left the Earth Federation on good terms. During the reorganization of Sides in UC 0084, Side 6 was moved to L5. Side 6 declared neutrality in the opening weeks of the One Year War, and managed to avoid most of the major battles of the war. Side 6 was targeted by the Zeon late in the One Year War after a Federation R&amp;D base was discovered here. The story is told in Gundam 0080. Two colonies are known to be located in Side 6: Libot Colony and Baldur Bay.

Side 7
Side 7 is known as Noa, and is located at L3. At the time of its introduction in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Side 7 consisted of a single, incomplete space colony that housed a Federation R&amp;D base involved with the Vinson Plan. This Side became famous in September of UC 0079, when the assault carrier White Base and its Mobile Suits successfully fended off an attack by Zeon Mobile Suit pilots, and in doing so marked the first battle between Zeon and Federation MS inside a colony. There are two known colonies in Side 7: Green Noa and Gryps/Gryps II.

Side 8
Side 8 is late addition to the Universal Century timeline; its first appearance isn't until UC0223. Information on Side 8 is sketchy at best, but we do known that the colony is agricultural and that it is located at L1. The name for this Side may be Gaea, but that remains unconfirmed.

Additional Colonies

 * Moon Moon: A lost "Island 1" type colony, home to a primitive group of space dwellers. Seen in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.


 * Sweetwater is a space colony from the Universal Century timeline. It was created through the combination of an Island 3 "open-type" colony with a "closed-type" colony as a place for refugees of the One Year War, Gryps Conflict, and the First Neo Zeon War. In UC0093, Neo Zeon, now led by Char Aznable, used the colony as a base from which they could launch another war against the Earth Federation. Due to Aznable's popularity among the colonists, Neo-Zeon's existence was hidden from the inspections conducted by the task force Londo Bell until the commencement of the Second Neo Zeon War.


 * Laplace: a Stanford Torus type colony, used as the persidential residence for the prime minister of the Earth Federation. Destroyed UC0001. It is likely near L1 due to its closeness to the Earth.

Future Century
FC space colonies are created as artistic representation of the culture of the sponsor nation, rather than being based on proposed real-world colony designs. For example, Neo Japan is made of four modules in the shape of the four main islands of Japan, Neo France is supported on a bouquet of roses, and Neo America is a five-point star with replicas of notable American landmarks on the surface. (G Gundam)

After Colony
The colonies in the After Colony Timeline (Gundam Wing/Endless Waltz) are generally based on the Stanford "Island 2" type layout, and are also located in gravitationally stable areas around the Earth. Colonies in the A.C. Timeline are identified primarily by Lagrange point, although travel time between colonies (even to L3) appears trivial.

The first colony of the A.C. timeline was completed in A.C. 001, and colonial development continued peacefully until A.C. 040, when the fighting on earth spread to the colonies, many of which were uncompleted. Several of these uncompleted colonies were damaged by the resulting war. Colony funding was reduced to a trickle in A.C. 060, and disputes over the theft of materials in A.C. 070 prompted the Middle Eastern nations to step in as mediators for other nations, and to help with the colonial construction, they also began mining the asteroids. By A.C. 102 Colony L1 was completed, and 15% of the Earth's population moved to the Orbital Village at L1. The rest of the colonies were completed soon thereafter, resulting in mass emigration to space. By A.C. 195, 90% of the Earth Spheres population lived in the colonies with the remaining "ruling elite" residing on the planet. (Gundam Wing/Endless Waltz)



After War
Space colonies in the After War timeline (and those dropped on Earth at the end of the 7th Space War) are identical to the O'Neill "Island 3" type colony cylinders seen in the Universal Century timeline. (Gundam X)

CC (Seireki)
To date, this is the only Gundam calendar timeframe not to have Space Colonies. Most of CC's space colonies, except those on the moon, whose population eventually became known as the Moonrace, were destroyed long ago when the Moonlight Butterfly destroyed all technological remnants. The remainder left for interstellar space. (Turn A Gundam)

Cosmic Era
For a list of known colonies in the Cosmic Era see Cosmic Era locations.

A small number of colonies in the Cosmic Era are designed on the O'Neill Island 3 design (such as Heliopolis at L3) or the Bernal Island 1 (like Mendel at L4), however, the most common space colonies are titanic, thirty-kilometer long hourglass shaped colonies called PLANTs (Productive Location Ally on Nexus Technology), each of which has a population in excess of 2,000,000 Coordinators (virtually no Naturals live in the PLANTs). The PLANTs are arranged into "cities" named after the months of the year and located at and around L5. Each city has a particular group of scientific specialties (for example, Martius City specializes in aerospace technology and shipbuilding). After CE 72, ZAFT dropped the "month" names in favor of names that clearly state the purpose of the colony - for example, the Minerva was constructed at the Armory One PLANT.

Most Natural-occupied space colonies (the ones built on traditional designs) were destroyed early in the Bloody Valentine War by ZAFT forces, and the primary moonbase of the Earth Alliance was destroyed by the G.E.N.E.S.I.S. laser at the end of the war, so virtually all of the humans living in space as of Cosmic Era 73 are Coordinators. This had disastrous consequences for the human race when the remains of the destroyed space colony Junius Seven (250,000 dead) were dropped on the Earth with the intent of causing the extinction of all Naturals (and subsequently, as the fertility of Coordinators drops off sharply with the third and subsequent generations, the extinction of the entire human race). (Gundam SEED/Gundam SEED Destiny)

Anno Domini
There is only few information mentioned about space colonies in the Gundam 00 timeline, most colonies being known are located at L3 and from beyond the asteroid belt. The only known colonies being Krung Threp which the Gundams are manufactured and tested, the HRL's Quanqiu Bernal Sphere-type colony connected to a solar power collection satellite as the home to Supersoldier developmental facility and a Union's colony. By 2312, another colony is created from beyond the asteroid belt after the Earth Sphere Federation was found.

Other than the main purposes the colonies are built for, the A-laws under ESF sends rebels, especially Kataron members, to work under high gravity deep within the colony. In episode 8 of the second season, it hints the A-laws tend to send rebels to space colonies.

There is evidence some colonies are built for many years but forbidden by a treaty drafted during the Solar Conflict.

Colony drops
It is impossible to discuss space colonies without discussing colony drops. The average space colony, no matter which universe it may reside in, has a set of dimension that are measured in miles or kilometers, which easily makes the space colonies the largest ballistic weapons ever built, and it is not uncommon to see space-born armies (like the Principality of Zeon) capturing or commandeering the colonies to drop them on the earth.

A colony drop of any sort has massive consequences for the earth, usually drastic changes in climate and weather, and the loss of land due to the impact. Because of the tremendous damage caused by colony drops, any type of drop operation is usually viewed as the use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Universal Century

 * Operation British: Zeon forces capture a depopulated cylinder and attempt to drop it on Jaburo, the Earth British.pngation's subterranean headquarters. The Federation intervenes, and the colony's course is altered, resulting in 16% of Australia's land mass to be destroyed, including Sydney.
 * Operation Stardust: The Delaz fleet captures two colony cylinders, forcing one off course. Originally thought to be targeted at the moon, the cylinder was reprogrammed to fall on the earth. An attempt to destroy the cylinder with the Federation's Solar System II failed, and the colony landed in the American Midwest.
 * Operation Apollo: The Titans attempt a colony drop on the lunar city Von Braun. The drop was unsuccessful after AEUG forces intervene.
 * Haman Karn's Neo-Zeon forces drop a colony on Dublin, Ireland, in Double Zeta Gundam as an attempt to kill civilians to demonstrate Neo-Zeon's power. While successful, the AUEG and Karaba are able to rescue some of the refugees before the impact.
 * Char Aznable's Neo Zeon drops the asteroid 5th Luna on to Lhasa, Tibet. An attempt by the group to drop the mining colony Axis fails after the Neo Zeon are intercepted by Londo Bell forces.

After Colony

 * AC195- (early in year): Operation Meteor: The original Operation Meteor called for many colonies to be dropped in order to create chaos on Earth for the five Gundams to take advantage of; however the orders to drop were ignored by the scientists who were charged with the construction of the Gundams, as they believed the Gundams alone to be enough and that they wouldn't have to commit mass murder.
 * AC195- Eve Wars (December): The colony-sized space battleship Libra, after losing its primary beam cannon due to enemy action, was ordered to collide with the earth. Swift action undertaken by the Gundam pilots on behalf of Earth eliminated Libra in the upper atmosphere.
 * AC196-AC197- Operation Meteor: Dekim Barton's plan's involve dropping the 13-mile wide colony X-18999 onto the earth, and seizing control of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. Swift action undertaken by the Preventers and the Gundam pilots; Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, and Trowa Barton were able to foil the plan before it could come to fruition.

Cosmic Era

 * The remains of the P.L.A.N.T. colony Junius Seven are seized by an ultra-radical ZAFT unit loyal to Patrick Zala, with plans to drop it onto the Earth. Upon hearing of the plan, ZAFT chairman Gilbert Durandal sends the Minerva to stop them. At the same time, a strike team led by Dearka Elsman and Yzak Joule executes an EVA to plant a set of drills to plant charges with the intent of shattering the remains into smaller pieces. The strike team was ambushed by the radicals, and were ultimately defeated by the Joule Team, and forces from the Minerva, led by Athrun Zala. However, the ambush was successful enough that the colony Junius 7.jpg only split into 2 pieces, forcing the Minerva to descend into the atmosphere to fire its Tannhauser heavy positron cannon to break up the colony as much as possible before the ship had to start proper reentry procedures. The Minerva succeeded in reducing the size of the fragments, but many pieces impacted the earth causing the destruction of many areas, including Rome, what appears to be Shanghai, and other metropolitan areas. It is said that the Junk Guild and Serpent Tail used the super weapon GENESIS Alpha in an attempt to destroy the colony, but sabotage nearly caused the weapon to strike the Earth instead.

After War

 * The 7th Space War results in the largest colony drop ever as the devastation wrought by the drop spares only 1% of the Earth's total population. 1322523788053.jpg