There's nothing special about getting your first two unlocks before building an outpost. A normal strategy in my spiritualist games.
There's nothing overly beneficial in unlocking an ascension perk by year 5.
Meanwhile, the Noble starts out of the gate with your planet producing 3% more of every non-Unity resource. 3% more minerals, 3% more alloys, 3% more food, 3% more energy, 3% more research, 3% more consumer goods. Minerals and alloys (exploits aside) are what gate you at game start. Not unity.