A couple of times now I've tried to design ships and been kicked out to my desktop- it seems like it only happens when I do it at the beginning report screen of the turn. Basically, this is what happens
1. End previous turn to start a new one
2. Get a report of ships built and click "go to planet" (or whatever the button is exactly) (I havn't tried it with going to the planet for social project built)
3. Start designing a new ship (I had been trying to make a terran medium ship with missiles, though i doubt it matters)
4. Try to save the ship- nothing happens (no save window pops up)
5. Exit out of the shipyard screen
6. Close the GNN window showing what had been finnished last turn
7. NOW a window pops up asking to save the ship- after you try and do anything with it, game will crash out
I would guess its somthin to do with which window is on top, and the GNN screen being before the save window, and once you try to save the ship when you're not in the ship design window, the game flips out and dies..
just my guess though