I'm convinced NASA wanted the Shuttle in orbit it time for the State Of The Union address that afternoon.
I remember the circumstances well. It was a classic case of media pressure and management arrogance resulting in disaster. There had been delay after delay with that launch and the media almost demanded that this one not be scrubbed.
I watched on TV while the ground crew chipped icicles from the Shuttle's scaffolding and told my wife there were too many unknowns in launching with temperatures that low. But the media kept up an insistent, almost threatening drumbeat, and both Thiokol and NASA management caved.
It was almost like watching the slow unfolding of a Greek tragedy by Euripides or Sophocles. I still get a queasy stomach when I think about it. The Greeks had a word for what caused NASA's tragedy: hubris.
It was ordered to fly from the very top imo. If you recall CBS was mocking the prior launch attempts in their newscasts and how all the kids watching from their schools kept being let down.
That's exactly right.