Although it is dying out a lot, Star Wars Galaxies has done a lot to make their space portion of the game top notch. It was lacking for many years but in the past 2 years or so they have added a lot and have drawn players back in just for the space side of that game. There is plenty of ship customization and dog fighting while in space. It's worth it just to check it out for the free trial.

It really depends on what you are looking for in a MMO. Eve Online can be an incredibly deep and rewarding game if you are willing to put the time in and build up a relationship with other players. The economic and political systems within the game world are among the most sophisticated of any virtual worlds. There are diverse player run alliances, each with its own goals and ideology, contesting rich conquerable areas.

Due to its single shard nature, you have the opportunity to interact with players from across the globe, many of whom operate in factions based on their nationality with all that entails. Overcoming language and cultural barriers, dealing with relative time zones, and building and maintaining international coalitions are all daily struggles within the endgame.

However, Eve also has the deepest learning curve amongst any MMO along with a highly aggressive player base. The new player experience is much more akin to Pre-Trammel Ultima Online than World of Warcraft. Mistakes are severely punished and even experienced players can lose months of work in a few seconds. Scamming is tolerated and even encouraged by the developers.

Unfortunately, the space combat elements of Eve are somewhat lacking. In general, it is nothing like what you see in the promotional videos. Small scale combat is relatively fun and balanced, but it is hard to locate and you will more often find yourself either heavily outnumbered or futilely chasing an enemy who feels that he is outmatched. Large scale combat may involve hundreds of players and is continually plagued by various forms of lag. Many players involved in a large battle will never successfully load their screens, let alone maneuver or activate weapons or defenses.

Overall, if you are willing to put in a few months of character development and participate in one of the alliances competing for territory, you can experience some great moments that you find anywhere else in virtual space.

Yes. Eve is far and away the best space oriented MMO.