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is a Japanese ''seinen'' manga series written and illustrated by Kou Yaginuma. The "realistic, slice-of-life science fiction series" tells the story of a group of Japanese high school students training to become astronauts in the early 21st century after the country's first human spaceflight launch ends in a disaster that causes many civilian casualties. It was serialized in the seinen manga magazine ''Comic Flapper'' from September 2001 to August 2009 and was later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Media Factory from January 2002 to October 2009. The series is named after Spica, a binary star system and the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. In the manga, Yaginuma includes many references to historical events related to the development of human spaceflight as well as literary works such as Kenji Miyazawa's novel ''Night on the Galactic Railroad''. American publishing company Vertical announced acquisition of the manga's license for English-language translation at the New York Anime Festival in September 2009, and the translated first volume was published in May 2010. The series was described by Vertical marketing director Ed Chavez as "technically sound" and "heartfelt" during its initial assessment. The manga was adapted into an anime television series by animation studio Group TAC. It premiered on November 1, 2003, on Japan's NHK BS Hi-Vision satellite service. Twenty episodes of the anime aired until March 27, 2004, when the series concluded prematurely before the manga was completed. Satellite television network Animax has broadcast the anime in multiple regional language releases, including English. A live-action adaptation was produced by NHK in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and aired between June 18 and July 30, 2009. ==Story== Author and creator Kou Yaginuma began writing the back-story of ''Twin Spica'' in 2000 with his debut work . In it and in subsequent writings, Yaginuma constructed a future history of the development of Japan's spaceflight program. He introduces readers to a future following the launch of Japan's first manned spaceflight mission, the , in 2010.〔Readers may imply from the title of Yaginuma's debut work that its story opens in 2015. The opening panels also indicate that the story occurs five years following the Lion accident, placing the mission's launch date in 2010. This is later confirmed in the first chapter of ''Twin Spica''. 〕 The mission ends in disaster when the liquid rocket booster fuel catches fire 72 seconds after liftoff. Mission controllers are unable to activate the craft's abort sequence, and the rocket crashes into the city of Yuigahama, causing many casualties among residents. The ''Lion''s explosion becomes one of the major accidents in spaceflight history and sets Japan's spaceflight program back by over a decade. In the years following the accident, the public accuses those involved with the ''Lion'' program of negligence. Rumors also begin to circulate about the offshore outsourcing of the rocket's production despite the government's claims that it was developed domestically. To promote recovery from the tragedy, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology establishes the Tokyo National Space School in 2014 as a vocational high school dedicated to training a new generation of students in the space sciences. Japan's spaceflight program is finally reactivated ten years later with the admission of students into the academy's astronaut training program. In the same year, the last operating module of the International Space Station is retired and destroyed by atmospheric reentry following completion of the station's long-term mission. Subsequent development projects are to be completed by individual countries with active spaceflight programs.〔Yaginuma's explicit use of the term "ISS" rather than a generic "international space station" ascertains its identity. 〕 Of the students in the inaugural class of the astronaut training program, one is selected to join the crew of Japan's second manned mission in 2027.〔The flight occurs 17 years following the Lion accident, placing the launch date in 2027. 〕 It is the final mission toward completing a space-based solar power satellite.〔Development of the satellite begins the same year the Tokyo National Academy establishes its astronaut training program (2024) and takes three years to complete. 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Twin Spica」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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