After this episode was filmed, no new shots of the shuttlecraft miniature were taken. All shuttlecraft model shots used in the series were stock footage from this episode, sometimes matted into different backgrounds.
First Star Trek episode to focus around Spock rather than Kirk as the main character.
Spock's rationale for wanting to leave a crew member behind to save others was the first instance on the series of his use of the Vulcan axiom regarding the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one.
The shuttle craft was built by AMT in exchange for them gaining the rights to make the plastic model kit version.
It has been noted that the behaviour of some of the personnel, particularly Lt. Boma, was grossly insubordinate to Spock for a quasi-military organization like Starfleet. By contrast, Spock's act of jettisoning the fuel and igniting it, in hopes of the USS Enterprise detecting, it is perfectly keeping with military procedures and a completely logical decision under the dire circumstances the crew was facing.