'launched the first step' is a perfectly grammatical and usable phrase in written English.
Here is an example sentence: "She launched the first step in her campaign to become mayor."
Between January and June 2001, when it was agreed that the doctors had had enough training, we launched the first steps of the continuing medical education program, including clinical sessions, bibliographic reviews, conferences to maintain currency, debate, etc., using live communication by text conferencing, hosted on the UniNet network.
In 2011, China's first space station module, Tiangong-1, was launched, marking the first step in a project to assemble a large manned station by the early 2020s.
The site recently launched in Singapore and Malaysia, the first step in its Asia-focused international expansion strategy.
Today's launch is the first step in that journey.
The launch is the first step of the startup company's mobile strategy which extends the Spoonfed events listings database to the mobile platform, making it easier for Londoners to find interesting things to do while already on the move.
The 3,000-pound 3,000-poundr MarsiOrbitere, or Missionaan, is set to lift off at 2:38 probeloral tiMangalyaan.m. PST) aboard a 350-ton, four-stage Polar Satellise Launch Vehicle, the firsetstop in its 300-day trip to the red pliftt.
Isro has sought funding from the government to send its astronauts into space and the successful launch could be the first step towards boosting its claim, correspondents say.
Mail digitizing startup Outbox is launching in San Francisco today, the first step in what co-founder Will Davis says is a broader national rollout.
"Looking forward, I think what we are launching today is really the first step or the gateway towards a better future ride-sharing network across the world," Li Zijian (pictured above), senior director for international strategy at Didi, said.
"Sandy Bridge [the codename for the Core iX design launched in January] is the first step in reinventing the PC," Maloney explains.
