The r is definitely different, and I wonder what happened to the v that had them making it thicker and sloppier.
When we do dimensional letters I’ve taken to putting an up arrow on all letters S, n, u, and H, to name a few. When studded, we position the studs so they can only go in the holes one way and still stay on baseline (though do not underestimate the likelihood even that trick doesn’t work!)
In addition to the upside-down s and weird r, the irregular surface geometry, which curves in multiple directions, makes the typography look awfully wonky. It reminds me of hand-painted signs where someone tried to freehand a typeface.
There were plenty of flat or gently curving spots on the shuttle to place a name, which makes me wonder why they chose that awkward spot. I suspect it was an administrative decision made by some higher-up NASA bureaucrat.
It’s on purpose. It makes it more aerodynamic, especially useful in space. 
Just-B’s point about the surface is the one that stuck with me. Once the name is sitting on something that curves in more than one direction, even a perfectly drawn letter is going to look wonky from some angles, so the upside-down s and that odd r almost feel like a side effect rather than the whole story.
And PrintDriver’s up-arrow trick is a good one — I can see why you’d want that for dimensional letters, especially with letters like S, n and u where it’s so easy to flip one without noticing until it’s already mounted. A small mark like that saves a lot of embarrassment later.
