Originally Posted by
Harry Wayfarers
What I heard was that the Challenger wasn't in a fully serviceable condition but it had the female teacher amongst the crew and it was the case that any delay to the launch was unacceptable.
Given that the launch was originally scheduled for 22nd Jan, and was postponed a total of seven times due to a range of tech faults, schedule clashes and met-scrubs before its final launch on 28th Jan, I think we can lay this particular claim to rest as an "urban myth".
Details
here. which also discusses the "wind-shear" effects and the actual booster seal leaks (which were visible from 0.678 seconds after lift off, before the shuttle had lifted past the gantry and well before any "wind-shear" effects had become apparent.
PDR