Your description of Earth Standard Time (EST) is fairly accurate.
RE: the Raider ships...they turned by a less effective system of thrusters
put in here and there, not nearly as powerful as the systems used by the
Starfuries. The reason -- verifiable by the shape of the Raider ships --
is that Raider ships are handicapped by the fact that they're made to
function both in space *and* within an atmosphere (hence the aerodynamic
wing shapes), which gives it something of a problem when dealing with the
Starfuries, which are made ONLY for fighting in space, and are most
ideally suited to it. The Raider ships make compromises for greater
utility, which is generally okay unless they run into superior forces of
ships designed for spaceborne combat.

jms