I found this in the technical FAQ on this site.
[b]Q. The game crashes after installing the F14.6 patch. How can I fix this?
A. Some features from a future graphics upgrade for the game accidentally made it into the latest patch. This didn’t cause any problems when the patch was tested, but it seems that on some user’s setups it can cause problems.
To fix it simply delete the following folder from the game:
resourceimagesplanets
This will disable the feature that’s causing the problem.[/b]
It fixed the loading problem/crash when you launch into space for me.