No one ever said being part of the first class at the Tokyo Space School was going to be easy. The entire process has been a challenge for everyone involved. The students are trying their best to keep up with the rigorous training schedule and difficult lesson plan. And the faculty still does not have the best grip on not only educating these young scientists but also motivating them to stay with the program no matter how much they feel they are falling behind. Grades and scores are not what is important here. The TSS is a learning experience, and a life changing one at that. Those fortunate enough to get the opportunity should use it to its fullest to try and reach for the stars, even if the cirricullum has made them appear so much farther away. Asumi is going through her growing pains right now. She knew this new challenge would not be simple. Mentally and, even with her petite frame, physcially she was prepared for almost anything the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) could through at her. Emotionally, however, she was light-years away from being able to even take more than a few attacks on her long suppressed past. So when Asumi is at her lowest, a longtime friend, of the invisible sort, pays a visit and as he is struggling with his own past she realizes that there is no way she cannot move forward. Nothing here can keep her from taking off! In addtion to the main story, Twin Spica volume 3 contains two additional short stories: Asumi & The Cherry-blossom Tree: In a bit of foreshadowing to introduce a character from volume 4, a middle school-aged Asumi meets a new classmate. Another Spica: Author Kou Yaginuma recalls his last days in high school, when he met his first love, one of the inspirations for Asumi's character.