GSX-401FW Stargazer Gundam

GSX-401FW Stargazer Gundam is the title machine of the OVA Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: STARGAZER (2006, Cosmic Era 73). It was built by the Deep Space Survey and Development Organization, a civilian body, to survey the solar system out past Mars rather than to fight. Test pilot Sol Ryuune L'ange gave it the name, with Selene McGriff in the operator's seat.

What it does in the story

The suit was shipped to the Trojan station to fit its propulsion ring. When the Earth Alliance's Phantom Pain group sent a ship to seize its control AI, DSSD swapped the AI block for a two-seat cockpit and put it into combat. Against the Slaughter Dagger unit it uses speed and its own drive's side effects to stay out of reach.

What makes it different

• The chest is a swappable module. Long-duration survey work was expected to be flown by a learning computer, so the suit was designed around an AI unit in the chest that must absorb ten thousand hours of pilot data before it performs. For a crewed sortie the block is exchanged for a two-seat cockpit. GUNDAM stands here for Guider UNmanned Deployment Autonomic Manipulation.
• The ring is a solar sail that also eats beams. Its Voiture Lumiere catches the solar wind on a curtain of light and turns it into thrust, and can also run off a power beam aimed at it from outside. Running it stirs the surrounding space enough that incoming beam fire is deflected and can be gathered into shootable blades.
• It is not armed. DSSD fitted a nanomachine repair system instead of weapons, and the only gun aboard is a KMS71/J beam pistol shared with the Civilian Astray DSSD Custom, a sidearm for self-defence. Its armour is thinner than a combat suit's for the same reason.
• The black seams on the body are part of the drive. They glow while the ring is in use and are wired back to it to trim the suit's thrust balance. DSSD is also said to have built in a multi-tap interface for either bloc's equipment, though the details were never published.

How big is it?

• Overall height: 18.94 m according to Bandai's official spec
• Weight: 76.22 t for the suit alone, or 83.59 t with the Voiture Lumiere unit fitted
• 1/144: roughly 13.2 cm, for the HG SEED kit

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Frequently asked questions

Background sources: GSX-401FW Stargazer Gundam — Gundam Wiki · コズミック・イラの機動兵器（スターゲイザーガンダム）— 日本語版 Wikipedia