Spaceship Multiplayer (COOP/MMO) similar to Elite Dangerous or Everspace

Platform(s): PC

Genre: Spaceship Online Multiplayer (coop, maybe MMO)

Estimated year of release: ~2005

Graphics/art style: No special artstyle, just latest graphics at the time, like Everspace or Elite Dangerous now

Notable characters: -

Notable gameplay mechanics:
I think the idea was to do missions or gather resources (in coop) to then level up your ship. The ship would upgrade in terms of specs and looks according to some pre-defined design/levels (not customizable).
You could choose one of two or three starter ships and you could preview how they'd look once upgraded. One starter was red and more sleek/fast looking and another one was green and more beefy/chunky (i.e. tank-style) looking, each with their own strengths/weaknesses.
You were on-planet during missions and iirc the upgrading was done on some space station.

My search so far was of no success, so happy to take any hint i can get, no matter how niche/odd it may be :D