Ok this question has been bugging me since Gundam Seed, so I'll finally ask it. In the beginning of Seed, the Archangel is trying to get back to Earth, and it was a huge pain the ass. They flew all over the place and took a good 10 episodes. After that we see people going back and forth between Plant and Earth like it's a block away.

So my question is: just how far is Plant from Earth? It seems like a really long distance and two separate worlds, but people go back and forth in those little shuttles like it's nothing. It's weird.