Inflatables are an obvious choice for space vehicles and satellites, a small sized payload than can be inflated once up, yet for some reason they aren't the norm. The first passive communications satellites were inflatable spheres, such as the Echo series, which mylar was developed for, and early prototypes for space stations were inflatable.
More recently, funding for the inflatable replacement for the habitat unit on the space station was cancelled and a private company, Bigelow Aerospace, is now the pioneer in the field, having successfully launched an inflatable unit.
(thanks Veljko)
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