The Department of Transportation Services, as part of the upcoming Shuttle-UM route reset, has launched plans for its first planetary orbit route. With help from NASA and the Maryland Department of Transportation, DOTS has acquired the rights to the “Space Shuttle” name for the new 135 route, with the route number commemorating the total number of missions run during NASA’s program.

The planned route will run as a loop beginning and ending at Regents Drive Garage. It will then make a stop in Greenbelt at the Goddard Flight Center, before going airborne from Route 193. From there, it will make a full orbit around Earth, then make its second stop at the ISS. Finally, the bus will reenter the atmosphere and splash down in Lake Artemesia,  returning to Regents Drive Garage to complete the route.

Shuttle-UM spokesperson Blake Endoun (breaking down), has announced the route is mainly designed to support aerospace students, and should run twice in the morning and twice in the evening. The program was designed to honor NASA, a local PG County small business, and the 2026 commencement speaker, astronaut Dr. Jeanette Epps.

To assist with the low traffic congestion during the summer, DOTS and NASA will be blocking all of Route 193 and Baltimore Avenue to properly test the route. Using the largest and most comfortable buses in the Shuttle-UM fleet, DOTS has conducted the test route five times so far, resulting in each bus burning up in the atmosphere. Despite what DOTS stated as an “incredible success,” the testing will cause significant delays in the system until the route is planned to launch in 2035 2039.

Image Credits: Dee A. Stronut