The primary purpose of the construction of satellites at the University of Aalborg is to give the students engineering capabilities beyond what is normally achieved within a masters program.

Student satellite activities at Aalborg University (AAU) started in 2003 as a result of AAU's involvement in the first pure Danish research satellite, Ørsted, which was successfully launched in 1999.

AAUSAT-II's predecessor was AAU CubeSat which was constructed in the period 2001-2003 and was launched 30 June 2003.

After the launch on 28 April 2008, AAUSat-2 beacon was received at Cal Poly University in California but two-way amateur radio communications could not be achieved as it turned out that AAUSat-2 was transmitting at a lower level than anticipated.

In March 2012, the AAUSAT-II mission was officially retired by the project — but the CubeSat is still up and running.