Spelljamming Question (or two)

 Howdy all....I have a question or two for anyone who would be nice enough,
or brave enough to tackle.

 I have been on this list for about three weeks.  I have seen a few
interesting posts pass across my wires.  But I'm not getting the information
that I need, so I will need to ask for it directly.

 The "brave" part above, refers to the following.  I have been DM'ing a
campaign (actually two) in the Forgotten Realms setting for about 4 years.
I have been told, I am a talented DM, and my respective party size keeps
growing.
 So I have been giving a lot of consideration to moving one of my parties,
out of forgotten realms, so I can keep them a bit more separated.
 After thinking over and reading a little on Ravenloft, And then
Spelljammer, I have opted for Spelljammer. But here's the tricky part.  I
don't want to go out and buy tons of material relating to Spelljammer, since
it may end up that I don't like it.

 So.  I usually design the modules within my campaign to be relatively
"Off-The-Cuff", which entails me creating a general outline, and basic NPC
encounters (that are not combat oriented), and seperate sheets for the bad
guys that they encounter.

 Now how/what/where at to make this style work for me in Spelljamming?  I
have the resource material, WildSpace, that a friend gave me, and I have
looked, but not to seriously, at it, and decided to post this question here.
 Can anyone help me in this?  Thanks!!

        Odessius