Well, the Chinese have done it - making it look so easy, almost routine on their first try.
Yes, they did utilized every possble bit of help they could get - 42 years of Russian and American experience, a spacecraft largely based on a design that has been in space for about 37 years, spacesuits tailored perfectly from a long heritage - all so easy.
We forget of course, that there is that X-Prize out there. I know the rules of getting into space are a little different, but if getting into space was easy, everyone would be doing it - certainly every large nation.
Perhaps the Chinese have got it right. Take a well proven technology, tweak it to suit your own specific needs a then embrace it. China appears at first hand to be going somewhere. If their PR department is anything to go on, we will soon see a Chinese flotilla to Earth orbit on a regular basis, a Chinese space station and even Chinese Yuhangjuans (not Taikonauts) walking on the surface of the Moon!
Perhaps the adaptations of older technologies,swinging them round into the 21st century, might not be such a bad way to get ahead - its all rather ironic really.
Where is ESA or Britain for that matter in manned space travel? There is a lesson here.
I think it's great to see another nation taking space by the horns and really wrestling with the problems.
Maybe, it might turn out that instead of the Americans and Russians allowing the Chinese to dock their craft to the ISS and become a full member of the international manned space community, it might be that in a few years the Chinese will allow the Americans and Russians to dock their craft to their own Chinese space station!!
The Chinese astronaut has successfully returned from space. China has declared that the following flight will be carried out during the nearest two years. Also China has declared creation of own space station. I think that China will use Russian experience of creation of space stations. Probably Russia has already sold space station to China. Anyway Russian space technologies are sold to China for a long time.
I heard that China is going to repeat the American program of landing of astronauts on the Moon. They are going to make it up to the end of this decade. I heard also about creation of base on the Moon with constantly working crew there.
it will be most interesting to watch the rest of the worlds reaction (the official British reaction is probably going to studied indifference). Part of me hopes there will be another space race. I am a little too young to really remember the last one.
Given the way the Chinese usually behave, I can't really see them joining in with the ISS yet.