Ahem... sorry Johann Brunhild but I think your logic fails as I think you are pretending things while about details we know nothing of.
First, today we use a lot of fuel to get out in space with our space ships.. but who said that in Freelancer it is so? Maybe the ships are actually taking off to space from planets don't need so much fuel because of advanced ship technology and a very efficient kind of fuel.
And pirates can have bases on planets for sure. It's not like they can really scan them and see that they are RED PIRATES. pirates are organized, they would use false IDs and they would find some ways to conceal where they are actually going. Or maybe they wold be some known company that is actually pirate owned without anyone knowing it.
And about the satellite.. they could have as well underground bases who knows?
![[Image: shad0wc0rpgamer.png]](http://miniprofile.xfire.com/bg/sf/type/0/shad0wc0rpgamer.png)