According to the producers, the main fictional work that influenced Space: Above and Beyond was the 1974 science fiction novel The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, in addition to other fictional works such as 1948 World War II biographic novel The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer, the 1895 American Civil War short story The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and the Iliad. Another possible influence, although denied by the producers, is the 1959 novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, as they share a significant number of motifs (excluding the politically controversial nature of Heinlein's work). Possible influence also came from the 1962 World War II television series Combat! and the 1987 Vietnam War series Tour of Duty. At the same time, the show also shares conspiracy elements with other television shows co-produced by the same team, such as The X-Files and Millennium.

In the years leading up to 2063, humanity has begun to colonize other planets. Suddenly, a previously unknown and mysterious alien species, the Chigs, attack and completely destroy the first outer space Earth colony and then destroy a second colony ship. The bulk of the Earth military forces sent to confront the Chigs are destroyed or outflanked. In desperation, unproven and under-trained outfits like the 58th "Wildcards" are thrown against the Chigs. The Wildcards are the central focus of the series, which follows them as they grow from untried cadets (receiving their initial training by none other than Full Metal Jacket and Mail Call's R. Lee Ermey) into veteran pilots and Marines. Although the unified Earth forces come under the control of a reformed United Nations, the UN has no armed forces of its own and therefore navies such as the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy operate interstellar starships.

The Space: Above and Beyond milieu includes an underclass race of genetically engineered and artificially gestated humans who are born at the physical age of 18, and are collectively known as InVitros or sometimes, derogatorily, "tanks" or "nipple-necks". The InVitros have replaced the previous underclass group used by humanity, which are the Artificial Intelligences (AI), also known as Silicates. These are human-looking androids, also referred to as "walking personal computers", who have rebelled, formed their own societies and wage a guerrilla war against human society. Although they were originally designed only to serve and not to question orders, an unsatisfied engineer who worked on the project implanted a computer virus, which introduced the idea of taking a chance to the Silicates (the "Take a Chance" Virus). It was said in the show that by taking a chance, they were then allowed to choose, thus allowing them to realize their state and fight against it. They are identifiable by their eyes, which have crosshairs instead of irises. The Silicates are also suspected of having some involvement with the Chigs.

• Space: Above and Beyond Alumni News and Reviews
• Space: Above and Beyond the Bitter End — information, resources, Forum and FAQs
• Space: Above and Beyond at Morgan & Wong Online
• Space: Above and Beyond Intelligence Center — technical information and resources
• Space: Above and Beyond Ready Room — multimedia and resources
• The Poetry of Space: Above and Beyond
• The Film and Television Music of Shirley Walker — the score and other works of the composer
• Space: Above and Beyond episode summary at Action TV Online
• Space: Above and Beyond category at Open Directory Project