dragoner
KosmicRPG.com
Like dragoner says, for most tables, it is best to abstract the science. But that can remove the flavor of a hard-science setting. It can be tough to strike a balance.
Using D&D's three pillars, the social, and exploration work fine in hard sf, it's the combat that runs against expectations, because getting shot or stabbed even once can be life threatening. However, if one manages those expectations, we can "bring our own light", to paraphrase Kubrick.
“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent, but if we can come to terms with this indifference, then our existence as a species can have genuine meaning. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.”
- Stanley Kubrick