NOVOTNÝ, J. Optické komunikacni site v hlubokem vesmiru [online]. Brno: Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta elektrotechniky a komunikačních technologií. 2025.
The thesis deals with the application of optical links in deep-space communications. The main investigated use-case is the data repatriation from a scientific mission via a network of network nodes. The thesis deals with a wide spectrum of relevant aspects from the strategic placement of the network nodes throughout the solar system, through physical layer considerations of the state-of-art optical terminals, their accommodation and link budget, to network aspects considering the propagation delay. The student shows understanding of the assignment throughout the work on the subject. He showed initiative, inherent motivation and engineering intuition. He approached problems systematically and could always ask the right questions. Unfortunately, the presented thesis doesn't do justice to the otherwise good work done. The technical writing is skill that needs to be practiced, which I strongly encourage the student to focus on. The second version of the manuscript already shows significant improvements not only in the content but also in the formal way. Still, there are some, mainly formal inconsistencies, such as - incorrect or wrong citation (see e.g. Fig. 1 or Table 1.1) - order of references should be according to its appearance in text and its style following the agreed format - routing path diagrammes show red dot at each node, whilst legend notes red dot for Psyche spacecraft only Overall, the student shows being able to approach an engineering topic, break it down to tasks and work on these in a systematic way. Therefore I propose grade B with 85 points.
The thesis examines the potential application of Deep Space optical communication. In the first part, the current state of knowledge is summarised, and the individual components of the laser communication system are described. In the next part, the student proposes the overall system architecture. In the last part, the student presents the link budget, the throughput calculation of the proposed link, and the results from the simulation program. The topic of the thesis is very current and interesting. I especially appreciate the simulation tool, which, according to the given system parameters, can propose a routing path and calculate the link budget of the deep-space laser communication system. Although the technical part of the thesis is at a very high level, from a formal perspective, there are several deficiencies. There is no standard citation for Figure 1. The three references to the LCRD mission are missing. The numbering of the references in the thesis is not consistent; it starts with number 53. References to Figure 1.4 are missing, as well as references in Chapter 1.2 and Table 1.3. The equations are part of sentences, so they should have correct punctuation at the end. There is a wrong reference to Figure 1.11 in the first paragraph of Chapter 1.4.4. References to Figure 1.12 and Table 1.8 are missing. There are also wrong references to Figures 2.7, 2.8, and 2.9. The style of references at the end of the thesis does not follow the standard ČSN ISO 690:2022. The assignment has been fulfilled; however, due to the formal deficiencies, I propose an overall grade of B: 80 points.
eVSKP id 170481