I have not tampered with anything
It seems the error occurs when:
You have no ships currently made (or bases) and then click on the ship icon that takes you to where you can view orders etc.
For example: I had 3 colony ships at the beginning of the game, they all arrived at their destinations and colonized. Next turn I did not have any ships but clicked just to make sure and got the error. I have tested this and it has happened 10 out of 10 times
Try it and hope this helps! I would email a saved game... but, um, I'm not sure how to do that... lol (I am a newbie at most parts of computer use).
Jason2