Before revision: If the manhole cover had made it into space , it would have been the first known man-made object in space , as it pre-dated the launch of Sputnik 1 by 38 days.
After revision: If the manhole cover had made it into orbit , it would have been the first known man-made object to do soby some stroke of luck , as it pre-dated the launch of Sputnik 1 by 38 days.