NASA’s announcement recently that the preliminary design review for the Ares I rocket had been completed was the most important announcement from the space agency for some 35 years. This was big news for them.

Big news for those interested in the Ares rocket – and in the Constellation project as a whole, within which Ares plays an important part – but there’s still a very long way to go.

The preliminary review of the Ares designs involved 1,100 specialists in NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. That sounds like a lot of people but when you consider the money and lives that are stake here, it’s the least they could do.

As I mentioned, there is a long way to go: this is just a small first step on a ladder of design reviews and iterative changes that will only finish when the Ares rocket powers up and sends the Orbit shuttle hurtling into space. Exciting times for everyone, not least for those brave souls that put their lives on the line in the name of progress. It is for their sake if nothing else that this lengthy process must be carried out with meticulous attention to all details.