Which of the following statements describes a 1990s step China took to develop military space capabilities?

• A. Began launching the Yaogan series of reconnaissance and surveillance satellites.
• B. conducted its first successful co-orbital ASAT test.
• C. conducted its first successful direct-ascent ASAT test.
• D. Deployed improved GEO COMSATs and weather satellites in both LEO and GEO (Fengyun series).

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that China began moving into space-based military intelligence and surveillance in the 1990s. The Yaogan family consists of reconnaissance and surveillance satellites that China deployed to gather imagery and signals intelligence from orbit. This marks a deliberate step to field military space assets, giving the PLA persistent cross-domain awareness— maritime, ground, and electronic signals—without relying on others’ satellites. That shift toward in-orbit ISR capacity in the 1990s stands out as an early, concrete move in building a space-enabled military posture.

The other ideas describe capabilities that either don’t focus on military space reconnaissance in the 1990s or refer to activities that came later or in different contexts. Anti-satellite tests and related kinetic programs evolved as separate programs, and while wind/weather/communication satellites exist and evolve, they don’t specifically illustrate the same early move into space-based military reconnaissance that the Yaogan program represents.