Flying with the additional drag and weight of the Orbiter imposed significant fuel and altitude penalties. The range was reduced to , compared to an unladen range of , requiring an SCA to stop several times to refuel on a transcontinental flight. Without the Orbiter, the SCA needed to carry ballast to balance its center of gravity. The SCA had an altitude ceiling of and a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.6 with the orbiter attached. A crew of 170 took a week to prepare the shuttle and SCA for flight.