Why does a satellite need an inert coating

A satellite, e.g. for radio or TV communication, needs to be robust to withstand its environment in space. In particular, it needs to be protected from the tremendous gravitational forces exerted during take off, from the deep vacuum of space, and from atoms in space. 

The great American scientist G. N. Lewis coined the word covalent, early in the 20th century. He wanted to express the way that a bond formed by means of electron sharing. Each covalent bond comprises a pair of electrons. This pairing is permanent, so we sometimes say a covalent bond is a formal bond, to distinguish it from weak and temporary interactions such as induced dipoles. 

The extreme strength of the covalent bond derives from the way electrons accumulate between the two atoms. The space occupied by the electrons as they accumulate is not random rather, the two electrons occupy a molecular orbital that is orientated spatially in such a way that the highest probability of finding the electronic charges is directly between the two atomic nuclei. 

The hydrogen atoms in space form a hydride with the materials on the surface of the satellite. 

We often call these Lewis structures dot-cross diagrams.  

---