The Pioneer 10 and 11 missions were the first to visit the outer Solar System, and provided data that would help change views about life’s potential at such great distances from the Sun. They also set the stage for even more ambitious exploration missions through the asteroid belt and beyond. Before the Pioneer 11 spacecraft could venture beyond our solar system, it had to pass through the rings of Saturn. At the time, the rings were not well characterized and some thought the spacecraft could be destroyed. Whatever happened to Pioneer 11 at Saturn’s rings would affect the flight plan of the Voyager spacecraft.