At one point, Shaggy says "Like, I once saw a show about a guy that saw gremlins on the outside of his plane." This is a reference to Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963) starring William Shatner who went on to play Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek (1966).
A few Star Trek lines are tossed around, such as when a reporter at the launch site says "Today his lucky passengers are boldly going where none of them have gone before." Malcolm McDowell (Sly Baron) was a guest star in Star Trek: Generations (1994).
Shannon Lucas is named for NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid. A possible additional namesake may be Star Wars creator George Lucas.