NASA programs -- especially Orion, which is focused on putting humans back on the moon -- could be in trouble after U.S. Rep. John Culberson lost his House seat Tuesday night to Lizzie Pannill Fletcher.

Culberson, a Republican from Texas, has led the House appropriations committee that funds NASA for the last four years. And he's been a stanch advocate of science and human spaceflight over his nearly two decades in office, said Keith Cowing, editor of NASA Watch, a website devoted to space news.

"Nothing is better than to have an advocate for space science and exploration sitting on the committee in the House where NASA funding starts," Cowing said Wednesday morning.

By contrast, Fletcher a Democrat and political newcomer, has largely remained mum about her feelings toward the space agency, even though many of the 10,000 people who work at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston live in her district.

She could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

"Culberson may be partisan, but he's a clear advocate for science," Cowing said. "The question is how will that affect NASA's space science portfolio?"

That portfolio has several controversial items in it at the moment. Just last month, federal officials released a report saying the long-awaited launch of the Orion spacecraft likely won't be ready for the planned mid-2020 lift-off because of cost and scheduling problems with the Space Launch System rocket that will send it into space.

The report, released by NASA's Office of Inspector General, concluded that NASA would need to spend an additional $1.2 billion if it wants Orion to launch in June 2020 as planned. The report did not provide a new launch date for the SLS, which has already been delayed multiple times.

Also problematic is the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that has orbited the Earth for 28 years.

Initially expected to launch in 2007, Webb has now been delayed until March 2021 — assuming it gets Congressional approval to continue after development costs breached the $8 billion cap set in 2011. Scientists say they now need $9 billion to finish the telescope.

Cowing said he doesn't think Congress will pull the plug on Webb this late in the game, but he expects the committee will now impose more scrutiny on the cost of Space Launch System, which so far has reached $11.9 billion.

"The 'just check the box and let the SLS cost go up' [attitude] is not going to be there anymore," he added.

Still, it's a shame to lose Culberson, Cowing said, because "so few people are championing science and exploration missions and putting their partisan stances aside, but here's Culberson forcefully looking for life elsewhere."

That attitude, however, was chided in an ad from a political action committee that supported Fletcher.

Culberson has been a strong supporter of missions to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons that scientists believe has an underground ocean of water that could make it habitable. When NASA asked for funding for the Europa Clipper tasked with orbiting Jupiter's moon and landing a probe there, he gave the agency far more than the ask -- $740 million compared to $265 million.

"John Culberson's ideas are out of this world. He wanted NASA to search for aliens on Europa," the ad stated, arguing that he didn't do enough for local flood control projects. "For Houston, Lizzie Fletcher will invest in humans, not aliens."

U.S. Rep. José Serrano, a Democrat from New York, is in line to take over Culberson's position as chairman of the committee. He hasn't ingratiated himself as a strong proponent of space, Cowing said.

Serrano "does not have a vested interest in human spaceflight like Culberson," Cowing added.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.