Short answers, pulled from the story.
The city-sized alien spacecraft crashed into South Ataria Island in 1999. This event set in motion a chain of events that would redefine the relationship between humanity and the cosmos.
The SDF-1 Macross was finally launched in 2009. The launch ceremony was interrupted by the arrival of the Zentradi, which ignited a war that would span the solar system.
The song Do You Remember Love? reached number seven on the Oricon music charts in Japan. This achievement proved that a fictional character could achieve real-world success.
The animation work was contracted out to a number of sub-contracting studios including Artland, AIC, and Gainax. Some studios like AnimeFriend and Star Pro became infamous for their spotty and error-laden animation.
Big West originally reduced the episode count to 27 before the show's success convinced them to extend it to 36 episodes. The series was produced as the first of three Super Dimension mecha anime television series in Japan.