Babylon Project

Babylon Project has other uses. Please see Babylon Project (disambiguation) for other meanings.

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"The Babylon Station is a place to work out our problems peacefully. It is, we believe our last best hope for peace."

– EA President Elizabeth Levy, 2248

The Babylon Project was a development of the Earth Alliance that began in 2248, shortly after the resolution of the Earth-Minbari War. The project's goal was to prevent future wars by providing Humans and aliens neutral territory to settle their differences peacefully. The first four Babylon stations ended in disaster during construction or shortly after coming online. The fifth attempt, Babylon 5, came online in 2256. The cost of bringing Babylon 5 into service was enormous, but the station met and far exceeded its initial goal over the next twenty-four years.

History

The Babylon Project began in 2248 after the resolution of the Earth-Minbari War, the war itself being the inspiration for the project's foundations. Babylons 1 through 3 were all destroyed during their construction by acts of sabotage. Finally, Babylon 4 was constructed and brought online in 2254 when it disappeared a mere twenty-four hours later. The last of the Babylon stations, Babylon 5, was constructed and placed into orbit of Epsilon III, thanks to substantial assistance from the Centauri Republic as well as the Minbari Federation, who suddenly became interested in the project for undisclosed reasons. The station came online in 2256 and ultimately served its purpose through frequent diplomatic engagements, first contact situations, ongoing trade, and key roles in several military conflicts. The new Interstellar Alliance was arguably the most enduring legacy of the Babylon Project. After Babylon 5 was decommissioned and scuttled in 2281, the Earth Alliance ended the project permanently, satisfied that it had fulfilled its purpose.

The Babylon Stations

The first Babylon Station seconds before it was destroyed.

The forward section of the Babylon station hurtling into space.

• Babylon 1: Babylon 1, originally known simply as the Babylon Station, was the first space station built by the Earth Alliance under the aegis of the Babylon Project. During construction, Babylon 1's infrastructure collapsed and exploded as a result of sabotage. Construction worker Thomas Jordan had just left the station. Part of its materials were recycled to construct Babylon 2.
• Babylon 2: The second attempted station in the Babylon Project, Babylon 2 was also sabotaged and destroyed, exploding during construction. Materials that survived the station's destruction were used in the construction of Babylon 3
• Babylon 3: Like the previous two stations, Babylon 3 was also sabotaged and destroyed, exploding during construction. As they had been on the previous station, leftover materials were used in the construction of Babylon 4.
• Babylon 4: The biggest of all of the Babylon stations, Babylon 4 disappeared 24 hours after it became operational.
• Babylon 5: Babylon 5 was the final Babylon station constructed, with substantial assistance from the Centauri and Minbari governments.

Babylon Project Logos

Earth Alliance Station Babylon 1	Earth Alliance Station Babylon 2	Earth Alliance Station Babylon 3	Earth Alliance Station Babylon 4	Earth Alliance Station Babylon 5

Notes

• Though only Babylons 1, 4 and 5 were ever seen, it appears as though they were colour coded in spectrum order — red, green and blue for stations 1, 4 and 5 respectively — which would make the unseen Babylon 2 orange and Babylon 3 yellow.
• JMS has stated that the intended design of the first three Babylon stations was the same as that of B4, though none of them got anywhere near completion. However, what little was seen of the (incomplete) Babylon Station in "In the Beginning" shows that it was a somewhat different design than either Babylons 4 or 5, but with a forward section closer in design to that of the latter.