Time Machine: If i connect a new Disk for an offsite backup, can i go back to my old Disk?

Will Time machine lose all memory of my previous backups if I temporarily redirect Time Machine to a fresh hard drive, backup the entire disk for offsite storage, and then reconnect original hard drive? Obviously this is not something I can just 'try' and risk losing a year's worth of backups. Please tell me if this can be done safely. Thanks in advance.