Which Chinese space series began in the 1990s as micro satellites?

• A. Yaogan series
• B. Fengyun series
• C. Shijian series
• D. Lijian series

Answer: (C)

The question hinges on recognizing which Chinese satellite series started using small, experimental platforms in the 1990s to test new space technologies. The Shijian series fits this role best. It’s a long-running set of Chinese on-orbit test satellites whose missions centered on experimenting with and validating new space technologies, with several early demonstrations carried out on relatively small, so-called micro-satellite platforms during the 1990s. That focus on on-orbit experimentation with compact spacecraft is what links the Shijian series to micro-satellites in that decade.

In contrast, the Yaogan series is associated with reconnaissance and earth observation launches that began later, Fengyun satellites are weather satellites with origins that precede or lie outside the 1990s focus on micro-satellite tests, and the Lijian series refers to more recent missions. So the Shijian series is the one that historically aligns with the idea of micro-satellite experiments starting in the 1990s.