In the series, the Space Battleship Yamato was created by the Earth Defense Force in the late 22nd century. At this time our planet was under attack from an alien race, the Gamilas, who were raining down meteor bombs that evaporated Earth's oceans and rendered its surface uninhabitable.
The new space warship was built inside the remains of the Japanese battleshipYamato (sunk during World War II in the sea near Okinawa) which was partially buried in what was now a dry seabed, thus concealing it from the view of the orbiting Gamilon vessels. The Space Battleship Yamato was finally launched on the year 2199.
In the American dub of the series, Star Blazers, the spaceship has the same origin but is named the Argo (after the mythical ship "Argo" from Jason and the Argonauts). In Spanish and Latin American countries its name was changed to Intrepido ("Intrepid").
