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Operation Stardust is the name of a fictional conflict, set in the Universal Century from the anime Gundam metaseries. Operation Stardust was undertaken by remnants of the Zeon forces in the year U.C. 0083 and is a major plotpoint of Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.
Operation Details
Under the command of Admiral Delaz, Operation Stardust begins with Commander Anavel Gato, also known as the Nightmare of Solomon, stealing the RX-78GP02A Gundam Physalis, a prototype Mobile Suit armed with a nuclear warhead, from the Earth Federation. Rookie Gundam pilot Kou Uraki attempts to capture Gato using the experimental RX-78GP01 Gundam Zephyranthes, but fails. Gato then moves out towards Konpei Island, formerly the Zeon space fortress Solomon, where the Earth Federation is conducting the first Naval Review since the One Year War. Before Kou and the Albion crew could intercept him, Gato fires the nuclear warhead at the Federation fleet, destroying or disabling over 66% of the fleet. However, the attack on the Naval Review is only the beginning of the operation. The Zeon forces then hijack, and later crash two space colonies together, sending one of them on a collision course with the moon. While the Federation forces have anticipated that the Zeon forces were going to drop the colony onto a lunar city, Delaz has a different intention for the colony. Beforehand, Delaz had made arrangements with either the mayor of the city or the chief of Anahiem Electronic to fire the laser propulsion system to jumpstart the boosters of the colony to alter the course to Earth. By doing so, Delaz fleet would be able to escape from the pursuing fleet formed from remnants of what was left of the Space Fleet at the Naval Review, because by the time the fleet has reached the city, it will run out of fuel and needs to take time to refuel. However, Federation Commander Bask Om, who is secretly working with Cima Garahau, a former Zeon under the command of Admiral Delaz, has setup an improved version of the Solar System Array, that was used at Solomon, just beyond the moon, in order to destroy the colony and prevent it from crashing into the Earth. Gato is able to destroy the Solar System II's control ship, and the colony successfully crashes into the American Midwest farmland, effectively destroying the Federation's main food supply.
Outcome
The Federation believed the objective of the colony drop was to destroy the Federation's main base of operations, Jaburo -- however, the objective was to stunt the Federation's growth, by way of destroying their food supply, as well as their Space Navy. This would buy time for the renegade Axis Zeon to complete the construction of a new Space Fleet, in order to begin a new war against the Earth Federation. As a result of the success of Operation Stardust, Jamitov Hymem, together with Commander Bask Om, formed the Titans, an elite unit within the Earth Federation Space Forces that was charged with the task of hunting down and destroying any remaining Zeon forces, as well as squashing any anti-Federation activity. In retrospect, Stardust was both a short-term victory and a long-term failure. By the time of Zeta Gundam, judging from its military resources against the A.E.U.G., the Federation seems to have recovered its losses and it is only because of the devastating Gryps Conflict had so weakened the Federal Forces paved the way for Haman Karn's Neo-Zeon triumphant return.
