Hewlett-Packard gets $2.5 bill

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - Technology company Hewlett-Packard says it has been awarded a multi-year contract worth up to $2.5 billion to provide technology services to NASA.

Hewlett-Packard Co. said Thursday the contract has a four-year base period with two additional three-year option periods.

The deal is the latest sign of an economic recovery and a pickup in government spending.

HP says it will provide personal computing services so that NASA employees can collaborate more easily in a secure computing environment.

The company says it will provide computing services and devices to more than 60,000 users as part of the deal. It will modernize the space agency's computer systems used by employees.