How much time does this game require? Like if I could only log at most a couple of hours a day(more on some days obviously), could I still have a good time?

I tried it a while back but ended up having RL stuff that took away my gaming time, and it seemed like I was able to have fun doing runs and stuff while windowed and doing other things in the background while I autopiloted, but I don't know if this was going to lead to more fun.

I guess my question is, if I don't have a big supership, could I still participate in these huge battles with a smaller ship? Or am I just pure cannonfodder(which is cool with me if I take someone with me)?