My very infrequent group hasn't done much space combat (the first sampling didn't go so hot for them since I was rolling like hot cakes, lol).
But once we do get back into a space combat scenario, my plan is to use minis as a means to track rough distances. So ultimately, the meat and bread of it will be narrative, with the cool minis for reference so that everyone has a rough idea where things are.
Always the problem I run into when trying to run combats abstract. Too much to remember for this cruddy memory of mine.