On April 16th, the Russian Space Program and Swatch were to launch the

satellite "beatnik" in orbit with the capability of sending voice and text

messages from people all around the world.



Unfortunately, the Russian transmission "Gelios", a key link with the MIR

space station, was severely damaged a few days ago.This has created a

situation of uncertainty and made communications to the MIR problematic.



Swatch has decided to donate the batteries supporting the beatnik satellite

to the MIR cosmonauts who will be using them to run the printer onboard

which is the lifeline to earth through which the cosmonauts receive their

daily instructions and key operations points.



To thank Swatch for this gesture, we have decided to publish the messages

that had been recorded in the beatnik memories and that we are now not able

to transmit on the radio waves.



The first Russian satellite "Sputnik" has a special place in the hearts and

memories of the Russian people.The gesture of Beatnik has made Swatch

special too.





Here are the beatnik's messages


Message 1: Let peace beat you, not war defeat you, I just want to hear your<br>

hearts beat at their own pace on Earth in the universe...(Arno)



Message 2:Let love beat all the wars on our wonderful planet! (Andrew)<br>



Message 3:nobody is going to beat me! (Yannic)<br>



Message 4: Gravity cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.<br>

Keep the beat alive. (Philip)



Message 5: Do space folks scribble, or have you beat illegible handwriting?<br>

I repair handwriting & hope for my 1st alien client! (Kate)



Message 6:Let our hearts beat together in a sound of friendship. (Tom)



Message 7:You must learn more about technology than it can learn about<br>

you. Don't let the system beat us. Advancement without loosing privacy.<br>

(James)



Message 8:I will always remember every beat of my heart, cause all of them<br>

are like a sunset in the ocean or a rainbow in the mountains. (Leo)



Message 9: The spiral vortex awaits as the last beat of the universe<br>

condenses upon itself and time stops... the last beat, becomes, eternal.<br>

(Sean)



Message 10: True happiness is only one beat away if you are willing to find

it. (Hans)



Message 11:It takes you one beat for a  clear powder-run on your snowboard<br>

but your heart will be beating for a long, long time. (Chris)



Message 12:Peace is one heartbeat away. So think with your heart. Think

Peace. (Peter)



Message 13: Hi, I need your help to beat the y2k problem. Thank u so much<br>

hello to the world. (Jairns)



Message 14: Just pick a country, no, a planet, where you can be-at my side.

(Andrea)



Message 15: I just have heard the sound of the heart beating of our 13<br>

weeks old (not born) baby. It still is amazing. (Westland)



Message 16: May the beat forever echo in our souls. But you can't have<br>

everything- where would you put it? (Thomas)



There has been a lack of understanding between us and some of you have been

very agressive regarding the transmission of these messages. It was a real

shame!



Now that this situation has been resolved, we would like to invite you to

take part, with us, in this cyberspatial mission, spreading these positive

messages all over the net.