Originally posted by Hanagata:
what does akatsuki means? red moon? or red sky?
Akatsuki means Dawn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akatsuki_%28Gundam%29Trivia
The name Akatsuki means "dawn" in Japanese; it's also bears the meaning of "beginning" and "ending". Morgenroete, the company that built Akatsuki, means "dawn" in German. The kanji of "Akatsuki" is engraved on the right shoulder of ORB-01 Akatsuki as well.
"Yata no Kagami" is named for a legendary mirror that is one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan.
Cagalli's insert song for Phase 24 of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED was Akatsuki no Kuruma, or Wheels of Dawn. This song was also heard in Phase 40, when the Archangel and Kusanagi evacuated the Orb Union to escape the attacking Earth Alliance.
The beam naginata does not actually function like a true Japanese naginata weapon; the name only refers to the shape of the weapon and it is a reference to a similar weapon used by the MS-14 Gelgoog in Mobile Suit Gundam.
The Akatsuki is reminiscent of the MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, which also had a reflective gold coloration related to beam-resistant armor. The Murasame, in turn, is similar to the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam. The Akatsuki (with the Shiranui backpack system) is also reminiscent of the RX-93 Nu Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, which had fin funnels that could be used as a beam shield. The Shiranui Akatsuki also sported vertically pointed wing binders very reminiscent of the Hyaku Shiki.
Cagalli loaned the Akatsuki to Neo after using it for a single battle, making it the fastest handed-down Gundam mobile suit ever.
While the official website calls this unit 'Akatsuki' the model kits for the ORB-01 call it 'Akatsuki Gundam'.