Florida ? With erratic fuel gauges still a possible threat, NASA aimed for a launch today of space shuttle Atlantis after senior managers signed off on a plan to tighten flight rules and shoot for a slim one-minute window.

Managers believe the extra precautions will keep Atlantis and its seven-man crew as safe as possible if, indeed, the shuttle lifts off with a European lab intended for the international space station.

On Saturday, two engineering departments at NASA recommended delaying the launch and doing additional testing to figure out why so many fuel gauges acted up during Thursday’s launch attempt. But in the end, they did not oppose trying for a liftoff, said LeRoy Cain, chairman of the mission management team.

“We’ll fill up the tank and we’ll see what we get,” Cain said. “If we meet our criteria, we’ll go fly and if we don’t, we’ll scrub and we’ll get a good tanking test and we’ll go forward from there.”