EVE Fiction

The first generation of frigates were built during the tensions prior to the Caldari secession from the Federation, as a step up from the smaller, lighter fighter craft of the time. So there are definitely smaller ships out there. I think of the racial shuttles as cargo vans. Not as massive as an 18-wheeler (industrial) but still capable of hauling a small family's belongings from point A to point B.

The biggest factor preventing baseliners from jumping into space seems to be cost. Non-capsuleers would use a planetary currency, and it has been stated that the average lifetime earnings of a baseliner family equal approximately 100,000 ISK. This, then, ties directly to the question (in its own thread) regarding the crews of capsuleer vessels.

I think we can safely say that the starbase structures are capable of supporting a large number of personnel, from lab techs to ship maintenance crews to janitorial staff. I would imagine, though, that as starbases are situated further from Empire high security space that they tend to operate a bit more leanly, relying less on human staff and more on automation, as it becomes harder to find - let alone replace or properly remunerate - human baseliner staff out in the farthest reaches

It's been a while since I've dug into the PF, but the origin of frigs as an evolution of Caldari fighters to counter Gallente drones is buried in there somewhere.

As to the populations of starbases, I believe this thread is about as authoritative on the subject as it gets at the moment. It begins with a link to this article, which has served me well in estimating answers where there were none to be found.

Judging by the Malkalen Incident's death toll listed in the "hundreds of thousands," that would put the total population of the station - a busy Ishukone installation in a 0.9 sec status system - at a few million. A POS wouldn't need near the personnel of a full-on station, so one could estimate the population of a fully-manned POS in highsec at a few hundred thousand.

While it is true that the Gallente have done more extensive experimentation with drone AI, this culminated with the birth of rogue drones, after which advanced AI research became verboten. The Minmatar use less automation than the other races by a stretch, followed by the Caldari. In either of these cases, though, one is highly likely to find zealous drum-beaters to recruit.

Bear in mind that a portion of POS fuel blocks contain robotics and mechanical parts, so it's reasonable to assume that some proportion of the starbase's functions are automated.