Well after reading a ton of gamespy & spore wiki info on the space stage I learned enough to that the next new game going to space worked out a lot better after the first time when I got mobbed by wars on two sides not counting the main big bad force. What would have helped is having the philosophy trait in the same spot, the spore wiki has a good list on where to find them and with the 3+ possible locations for that it would have made more sense to just put it in the main tab for easy access, sure as hell didn't see anything on where it was as far as all the other tutorials. 

For all the people here & online who are caught in the Spore web the only advice I have is this: in space mode start small & explore some while doing missions for the neighbors & start trade with anyone who's friendly; any rare item that is tied to a particular philosophy, save those for the people who pay 2x for them; easy colonies by waiting til people are at the tribe stage on a planet & wiping the main huts off the face of the planet then no more races to stop you from taking over; and most importantly in the creator pressing ALT will copy item & TAB will give you 3 rotate wheels.  

And when in creature/tribe mode watch the skies for cool screenshots :)