Colonel Richard "Dicky" Finley says the reason he did not mention an incident between the victim and a crew mate of hers was because NASA didn't want to undergo the notoriety of "another astronaut-in-a-diaper story". He is referring to the case of Navy Captain Lisa Nowak, a NASA astronaut and mission specialist on the space shuttle Discovery during mission STS-121 in July 2006. Nowak gained international attention on February 5 in 2007, when she was arrested in Orlando and charged with the attempted kidnapping of U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman. Nowak drove from her house in Houston to Orlando without stopping, reportedly by the use of space diapers, to kidnap Shipman from Orlando International Airport. Police thought she intended to kidnap and murder Shipman out of jealousy over Shipman's relationship with a fellow astronaut.
Finley (James Brolin) mentions having had a conversation with Pete Conrad. Conrad flew on four NASA missions: Gemini 5, Gemini 11, Apollo 12 (moon landing) and Skylab 2. Conrad was a pilot on Gemini 5 and served as commander on the rest.
Danny Mastrogiorgio has played four different roles over the course of the series:
- Episode 16.7 Chicago Crossover (2014) - George Turner
- Episode 13.14 Home Invasions (2012) - Mr. Fisher
- Episode 10.4 Lunacy (2008) - Orlando McTeer
- Episode 2.6 Noncompliance (2000) - Earl Miller / Gilmore
James Brolin plays an astronaut who didn't go to the moon. In Capricorn One (1977), he played an astronaut who didn't go to Mars (though NASA wanted people to think he did).
Chris Elliott (Anton Thibodeaux) also played the role of Pete Matthews in Patrimonial Burden (2015).