Cosmodrome

"A whole Golden Age shipyard, but crawling with Fallen."

- Arach Jalaal

The Cosmodrome is located in Old Russia. Operated by the Russian Federal Bureau of Aeronautics, or PФбA, the Cosmodrome was a vital link to space during humanity's Golden Age, and centuries after the Collapse, the remnants of forgotten colony ships on the launch pad can still be seen. Besides launching colony ships, the Cosmodrome was vital for its planetary array which maintained contact with the colonies, and for housing the Warmind Rasputin, who was responsible for protecting Earth from outside threats. Since the Collapse, the House of Devils made their lair here, with a Hive invasion force fighting to establish a beachhead for a pending invasion of Earth and the House of Kings keeping watch from the old control center. By the time of the SIVA Crisis, the Kings have withdrawn and the Devil Splicers have risen to power thanks to SIVA, threatening the remaining Hive nests.

Every location in Old Russia, including the Plaguelands, lies within the confines of the Cosmodrome's vast security wall, with the exception of Gateway and Felwinter Peak. The ruins of the Cosmodrome tell some of the history of the Collapse: hundreds of civilian vehicles are seen outside the facility's walls trying to get in, with, with tanks parked on the opposite side of the entrance. The colony ship that stands as the centerpiece of the area had been one of the last ships attempting to escape the Darkness, but failed to launch due to a fuel line explosion.

Trivia

 * The Cosmodrome is a real-world location in Kazakhstan. Bungie artists stated that they chose the Baikonur cosmodrome as the game's starting point for its history in the evolution of spaceflight.
 * The Divide was originally supposed to be packed with dead civilians trying to make their way past military checkpoints, but was dropped, citing resource constraints, busy environments, and overly grim setting.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * Rise of Iron