Yeah, I'd want something a bit less 'pulp space opera' and more Star Trek in tenor. :) The main idea behind a space game should be 'sensawunda' - you're going somewhere no human (or currently extant sentient from which your crew derives) has been before, or dealing with fringe elements of the galaxy that aren't commonly trafficked. A heavily-populated science fiction universe can otherwise start to feel too mundane, as if the spacers were just truckers.

The MC scenarios sound fun, like a board game sort of scenario. I guess for a campaign, you'd have to figure out a more overarching kind of plot.