Check Back With Tech Research
Make sure to visit your Tech Research room frequently to see if you can build better facilities like ship hangars. If you’re able to build a higher tier ship hangar, you’ll be able to build better ships for your officers. You can also unlock ship and cadet upgrades through Tech Research, and this is the key to making your fleet even stronger as time passes. The cadets might seems like a waste of resources at first, but they can be really helpful if you need ground forces to fend off the aliens lying dormant in your base. I advise looking into the cadets once you’ve gotten comfortable with your current officers.
You’ll also need to make sure you have enough power in your starbase to keep all of your facilities running. Be sure to return to the base frequently to make sure that you have all of the best facilities in tip top shape.