<<< SPOILERS: CONCERNING THE HISPANIA'S FATE >>>
No ships were launched from Earth. All 8 ships were launched from Pluto. A Coalition fleet came and destroyed 3 of the 8 ships in Sol while the other 5 escaped. A saboteur destroyed the Hispania's main engines. Half the crew (the Corsairs) decided to leave in shuttles (or life pods or something. I'm not sure). The other half of the crew (the Outcasts) decided to use the Hispania's Secondary and/or Auxillary engines to continue to the Sirius Sector. The Corsairs landed on Crete and the Outcasts landed on Malta. That is why the Hispania is awfully close to Planet Malta while it is nowhere near Planet Crete (by that I mean it's in another system).
<<< SPOILERS: CONCERNING THE HISPANIA'S FATE >>>