{"id":91982,"date":"2025-06-01T11:10:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T11:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?p=91982"},"modified":"2025-06-01T11:10:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T11:10:36","slug":"which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/","title":{"rendered":"Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind th"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind the “Fractional Orbital Bombardment System” often talked about in media ?<\/p>\n

[amp_mcq option1=”A hypersonic missile is launched into space to counter the asteroid approaching the Earth and explode it in space.” option2=”A spacecraft lands on another planet after making several orbital motions.” option3=”A missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth.” option4=”A spacecraft moves along a comet with the same speed and places a probe on its surface.” correct=”option3″]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
This question was previously asked in<\/div>\n
UPSC IAS – 2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Download PDF<\/a>Attempt Online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe statement that best reflects the idea behind the “Fractional Orbital Bombardment System” is that a missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth.
\n<\/section>\n
\n– The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) was a strategic weapon system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
\n– It involved launching a warhead into a low Earth orbit, but not completing a full orbit (hence “fractional orbital”). The warhead would travel along a depressed trajectory, orbit the Earth for a fraction of a pass, and then deorbit and hit a target.
\n– The primary advantage was that it could approach a target from any direction, potentially bypassing missile defense systems that were primarily oriented to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) coming over the North Pole.
\n– Option A describes a hypothetical asteroid defense scenario. Option B describes interplanetary spacecraft landing. Option D describes a spacecraft interacting with a comet.
\n<\/section>\n
\nFOBS was tested but never operationally deployed due to arms control treaties (specifically, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 which prohibits placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit) and technical limitations. It was considered a form of strategic nuclear weapon delivery.
\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind the “Fractional Orbital Bombardment System” often talked about in media ? [amp_mcq option1=”A hypersonic missile is launched into space to counter the asteroid approaching the Earth and explode it in space.” option2=”A spacecraft lands on another planet after making several orbital motions.” option3=”A missile … <\/p>\n

Detailed SolutionWhich one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind th<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1092],"tags":[1108,1225],"class_list":["post-91982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc-ias","tag-1108","tag-defence-technology","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\nWhich one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind th<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The statement that best reflects the idea behind the "Fractional Orbital Bombardment System" is that a missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth. - The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) was a strategic weapon system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. - It involved launching a warhead into a low Earth orbit, but not completing a full orbit (hence "fractional orbital"). The warhead would travel along a depressed trajectory, orbit the Earth for a fraction of a pass, and then deorbit and hit a target. - The primary advantage was that it could approach a target from any direction, potentially bypassing missile defense systems that were primarily oriented to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) coming over the North Pole. - Option A describes a hypothetical asteroid defense scenario. Option B describes interplanetary spacecraft landing. Option D describes a spacecraft interacting with a comet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind th\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The statement that best reflects the idea behind the "Fractional Orbital Bombardment System" is that a missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth. - The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) was a strategic weapon system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. - It involved launching a warhead into a low Earth orbit, but not completing a full orbit (hence "fractional orbital"). The warhead would travel along a depressed trajectory, orbit the Earth for a fraction of a pass, and then deorbit and hit a target. - The primary advantage was that it could approach a target from any direction, potentially bypassing missile defense systems that were primarily oriented to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) coming over the North Pole. - Option A describes a hypothetical asteroid defense scenario. Option B describes interplanetary spacecraft landing. Option D describes a spacecraft interacting with a comet.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MCQ and Quiz for Exams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-01T11:10:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind th","description":"The statement that best reflects the idea behind the \"Fractional Orbital Bombardment System\" is that a missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth. - The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) was a strategic weapon system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. - It involved launching a warhead into a low Earth orbit, but not completing a full orbit (hence \"fractional orbital\"). The warhead would travel along a depressed trajectory, orbit the Earth for a fraction of a pass, and then deorbit and hit a target. - The primary advantage was that it could approach a target from any direction, potentially bypassing missile defense systems that were primarily oriented to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) coming over the North Pole. - Option A describes a hypothetical asteroid defense scenario. Option B describes interplanetary spacecraft landing. Option D describes a spacecraft interacting with a comet.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind th","og_description":"The statement that best reflects the idea behind the \"Fractional Orbital Bombardment System\" is that a missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth. - The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) was a strategic weapon system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. - It involved launching a warhead into a low Earth orbit, but not completing a full orbit (hence \"fractional orbital\"). The warhead would travel along a depressed trajectory, orbit the Earth for a fraction of a pass, and then deorbit and hit a target. - The primary advantage was that it could approach a target from any direction, potentially bypassing missile defense systems that were primarily oriented to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) coming over the North Pole. - Option A describes a hypothetical asteroid defense scenario. Option B describes interplanetary spacecraft landing. Option D describes a spacecraft interacting with a comet.","og_url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/","og_site_name":"MCQ and Quiz for Exams","article_published_time":"2025-06-01T11:10:36+00:00","author":"rawan239","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rawan239","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/","url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/","name":"Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind th","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-06-01T11:10:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-01T11:10:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/5807dafeb27d2ec82344d6cbd6c3d209"},"description":"The statement that best reflects the idea behind the \"Fractional Orbital Bombardment System\" is that a missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth. - The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) was a strategic weapon system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. - It involved launching a warhead into a low Earth orbit, but not completing a full orbit (hence \"fractional orbital\"). The warhead would travel along a depressed trajectory, orbit the Earth for a fraction of a pass, and then deorbit and hit a target. - The primary advantage was that it could approach a target from any direction, potentially bypassing missile defense systems that were primarily oriented to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) coming over the North Pole. - Option A describes a hypothetical asteroid defense scenario. Option B describes interplanetary spacecraft landing. Option D describes a spacecraft interacting with a comet.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/which-one-of-the-following-statements-best-reflects-the-idea-behind-th\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UPSC IAS","item":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/category\/upsc-ias\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind th"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#website","url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/","name":"MCQ and Quiz for Exams","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/5807dafeb27d2ec82344d6cbd6c3d209","name":"rawan239","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/761a7274f9cce048fa5b921221e7934820d74514df93ef195a9d22af0c1c9001?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/761a7274f9cce048fa5b921221e7934820d74514df93ef195a9d22af0c1c9001?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"rawan239"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com"],"url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/author\/rawan239\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91982\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}