Uh.... What?

STS-51-L was a failure by any metric you double possibly come up with.

Sometimes, certain methodology for launch systems incorporate launch failures as learning experiences, with the ground team learning important facts for future iterations. However, not every launch system is developed that way, and any launch system that has human souls on board will be a failure if there is a loss of human life.

And even beyond that, certain payloads are so costly, time intensive to build, and needing to reach the launch window that a catastrophic event will undoubtedly be a failure.

The James Webb Telescope took 30 years and $10 billion to build. If it blows up on ascent, that is a FAILURE.

The Voyager probes needed to be launched in a certain window so as to achieve the flight paths needed for their tour of the solar system, something that was only possible due to a once in-a-generational alignment. Had they blown up, the mission would be a failure.