Docking bay

Docking bays are a protoss launching point, where ark shuttle and other such craft can be stored and launched from.

History
During the Second Great War, a number of docking bays were used by the Daelaam during the attempted evacuation Kaldir through ark shuttled. The evacuation was unsuccessful.

During the End War, a number of Kaldir's docking bays were used by Amon's Forces in an attempt to ferry troops across the sector. This operation was halted by allied commanders.

Game Structure
In Heart of the Swarm, three docking bays appear in the level "Shoot the Messenger" as the launch points for the ark shuttles. They are deep in the protoss bases on the map. If a docking bay is destroyed, no more ships will launch from it. If all three are destroyed, the level will end early, and the player will gain the My Cool Bay Explosion achievement if played on hard or brutal difficulty.

In the Co-op Missions map "Void Thrashing", docking bays reappear as the launch point for the ark shuttled, but are untargetable and immune to damage.

Trivia
The symbol in the center of the docking bay is the symbol of the Templar Caste.