A lot of things have influenced BASO as it is a comic that has been gestating for years.
Granted it hasn'r been non stop development but I've been thinking about it and many ideas have carried through.  
Here is a little list that I shall expand exactly haw they inspired it later.
Babylon 5
Frontier elite 2
Red dwarf
star trek (in all its forms)
star wars
firefly

BABYLON 5
B5 was an excellent show that fused sci fi and fantasy in a slightly less hokey way than star wars.  It also had a lot of depth, not just the main story but back story the cutlures and relations.  JMS created an incredibly rich setting.  The look has also been an inspiration as I started rewatching  the show as I created BASO, still doing so, just slowly as things like the walking dead have come back on air.

Frontier elite 2

I played the original elite a bit but it was elite 2 that really grabbed me as it was more accessible and I was older.  Meaning I was better able to get a grasp on the game.
Frontier is all about trading, piracy and exploraton.  It's a massive setting and while it isn't as rich as B5 it is hardly lacking in scope.  It was from here that I first got the idea of rival human societies, it's not an original idea but all to often in space operas the enemies are near faceless aliens.