Since my last post I decided to improve on the model and background a bit to give it a more of a realistic space and metal texture.
To improve on my simple background, I downloaded an HDRI map of space from here, which also shows what the map would look like:
Then I wanted to add a dented metal material to my ship and followed this tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-IYoyPtiFQ), to make the material which I then applied to my ship. I really like how this material looks compared to my previous version- the metal dents help to create a battle-torn look and they catch the light which makes it a bit more interesting to look at compared to the smoothness of the previous version.
This is what the shaders for my new material looks like (achieved from following along with the tutorial) :
After this, I just exported my animation again and here is the final animation now:
With these simple changes I was able to push my model further and it looks so much better than my previous version.