I'm pretty sure they aren't abandoned, because I remember discussing the idea of them before(and I suppose he took the idea).
Basically, they are the gas stations of space. When docking at them, you can get repairs, new crew members, fuel, ammo, and so on, without paying wages for the crew. You can even sell fuel at them, if you can safely extract it from gas giants(there are ways...). But, you can not sell your map data, bio data, or resources at these stations, so credit income in null. You also can't buy new equipment, unless you want to pay overpriced at the local bargain store. So, these "pitstops" are ways to help you keep afloat if you don't believe you can afford another "wage" payment, and want to refuel.
If you guys have any other questions, just ask, I think I got a pretty good feel of of the game. I've gotten to a point where credits don't matter(you make so much you can't spend it all) at several points, and I just explore the galaxy till some random spaceship blows my face off.
Also, some bugs I've had, they may have been reported before....
1. I pressed the zero key so that I could fire at about 10 enemies at once, and it froze and crashed. I wish I remembered what exactly happened when it froze, but I didn't really think I would be filing a bug report.
2. I somehow switched the keys so that shift+e made the game exit and save. When I reloaded the game, I was off whatever planet I was on. Pretty big exploit.
When I "dig up some dirt" on one of the companies, isn't it possible to make infinite money by constantly being payed to be silent? Or do they blow you up eventually...I didn't feel like testing it.