Ginger Gonzaga's character of Anabela Ysidro-Campos is a direct spoof of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
When General Naird says "Space is Hard". This is an actual quote from the first Chief of Space Operations General John Raymond in a Space Force recruiting video. In October of 2019, before the U.S. Space Force existed, NASA released a video called "Space is Hard". The real-life Space Force recruiting video, released after Nasa's video, starts by mentioning all sorts of things NASA has to deal with "like Black Holes and the Theory of Relativity," but then goes on to basically say "But now, our entire way of life depends on protecting our satellites day and night. So yea, Space is hard." The NASA video is over 2 minutes long, whereas the Space Force's video is only about 30 seconds long.
The red-haired cadet in the gym is played by the son of Greg Daniels, who also featured in The Office (US)
The U.S. Air Force is organized under the "Department of the Air Force." Prior to becoming a separate branch of the armed forces, what is now the U. S. Space Force used to answer to the "Department of the Air Force" as well. That means the Space Force did not formerly report to a U.S. Air Force General as the show implies.
The mentioning of Dr. Banner experimenting with Gamma-Rays is a reference to the Marvel character Bruce Banner aka Hulk; the mentioning of vibranium from Wakanda is a reference of Marvel's Black Panther.