Launch

"Battle at the launch pad of this cosmodrome. Perfect for any game mode."

- Launch's map description

Launch is a multiplayer map featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Overview
Launch is set in the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and features a Russian Soyuz 2 rocket taking off in the background. At some time during the game, although on average, around the halfway point through the round/match the rocket will launch, and set alight and kill anyone located beneath the rockets engines. In Search and Destroy and Demolition, target A is located under the rocket. The B flag is located under the rocket in Domination.

Launch is very much a vertical map as it is horizontal because it uses the rocket as a large part of the map. When Black Ops was released, vertical gameplay was not seen very much, although this new map type was used in Modern Warfare 2 in maps such as Rust.

Trivia

 * This was the first known map in the Call of Duty series to feature an actively changing environment, as it was revealed before any others.
 * In Team Deathmatch, the rocket will begin ignition whenever one team reaches 4000 points.
 * Before the rocket launches, one can hear an alarm and someone speaking Russian through a loud speaker, counting down to one in Russian.
 * If the player is under the rocket when it launches, they will be killed.
 * It is possible to see a second rocket launching at least a minute before or after the one in map does, possibly Soyuz 1.
 * If one looks at the rocket after it takes off, it simply disappears in a short time.
 * Launch has both Campaign and Zombies counterparts, similar to Asylum. They are "Executive Order" and Ascension, respectively.
 * If one looks off in the distance, it is possible see a white rocket similar to the ones on Moon.

Video
Video:Launch - Takeoff (HD)Rocket launching