Rebecca Ferguson had originally turned down the part of Dr. Miranda North, the British Quarantine Officer, as she thought she would not live up to the standards of the movie. She expressed her anxiety and fear to the producer, who advised her to talk with Daniel Espinosa whose philosophy and ideas for the film impressed her enough to change her mind and take part in the movie.
To emulate the lack of gravity, the actors were all suspended on wires that were all later digitally removed.
The International Space Station is co-owned and managed by 15 nations and is the most expensive man-made structure ever built.
In a deleted scene, Sho (Hiroyuki Sanada) confesses to David (Jake Gyllenhaal) that the birth of his daughter Mei was unexpected. He and his wife had been trying to get pregnant for nine years without result, and they had already given up hope. This makes it likely that he found out that his wife was pregnant after volunteering for the ISS mission.
Despite giving the appearance of being weightless, the astronaut suits were actually very heavy, weighing in excess of 50lbs.