Location: Equatorial orbit 33,000 km above Epsilon Eridani III
Overall Length: 7,962 meters
Diameter (Rotated Section): 840 meters
Thermal Panel Span: 2,070 meters
Garden Span: 400 meters
Total Tonnage: 9.1 billion tons
Average Population: 250,000 lives

Although half of its original planned size, Babylon 5 is a large space station by any standard. It’s built like a giant tube rotating around a stationary core, with the rotation of the tube providing a sense of gravity for those within. The tube is many decks thick, and variation in gravity is achieved by housing closer to, or further from, the central core, with the strongest gravity felt furthest from the center core. The large open center of the tube is the Garden, where food is grown, water is stored, and plants are allowed to flourish, providing an environment with a natural feel.

The Station is divided into color-coded areas arranged by decks underneath and around the Garden.

Yellow Sector: Engineering, Docks, and Cargo

The non-rotating sections of the stations that includes the fusion reactor and large zero-gravity cargo receiving bays.

Blue Sector: Customs, Operations, and Personnel Habitation

This section houses the offices, quarters, and operations centers for Earthforce and station duty personnel, including the station’s Command and Control Center. It also contains smaller gravitational docking bays and the customs area. All traffic in and out of the station is routed through the docking bay section and customs, allowing the management and control of illegal or improper shipments into the station, although it is not uncommon for large ships trading at Babylon 5 to shuttle cargo directly from ship-to-ship from orbit around the station. This is also where the Council Chambers are located.

Green Sector: Diplomatic Habitation and Facilities

This section houses the alien ambassadors and dignitaries, and limited facilities with specialized, non-human atmospheres needed for survival. Except for the Vorlon Ambassador, all of the races with votes on the Council house their ambassadorial parties here, and many of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds representatives use this area as well.

Red Sector: Habitation and Facilities

This section is the center of commerce and recreation. It houses restaurants, casinos, and marketplaces, as well as semi-permanent lodging to non-Earthforce humans and other aliens. The top level along the Garden houses among other things the fabulous Fresh Aire open restaurant; a recreational sports field; a small freshwater lake that although is part of the recycling system, is available for boating and swimming; and a park which features a hedge maze and a Japanese stone garden.

Brown Sector: Commerce and Transient Habitation

This section contains temporary lodging facilities and additional commercial areas for travelers passing through. It contains some of the less reputable restaurants and clubs. It also contains the “Alien Sector,” the informal name given to the areas of the station set aside for other atmospheric environments. It is where many of the alien races, including the Vorlon Ambassador, live.

Gray Sector: Construction, Manufacturing, and Maintenance

This section is the industrial section of the station, housing construction and maintenance facilities that cannot be in Blue Sector, including the power regulation stations, the food production facilities, and the air and waste recycling centers. Situation on the end of the rotating habitat nearest the fusion reactor, is a secure area with access granted only to station operations personnel.

Down Below

Down Below is the name given to the undeveloped areas of the station, mostly those situated underneath the other colored sectors. Gravity here is slightly higher than Earth standard. Some levels are on the very skin of the station, with windows in the floor that allow a view of the vacuum. Those who come to Babylon 5 with few prospects sometimes wind up in Down Below, unable to find work or to pay for better lodgings or shuttle tickets elsewhere. The combination of undeveloped squalor, the oppressive gravity, and constant crime, leave many of the denizens of Down Below, called “lurkers,” depressed and listless.