Hewlett-Packard announced that it has landed a $5.5 billion deal to provide, desktop, notebook, servers, printers over 7 years to NASA.

The agreement is an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, meaning that the space agency has an open date on the purchases as well as the exact amount spent on individual products. The entire federal government and its authorized prime contractors also have the option to purchase HP technology through the contract, also known as a "Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) IV Class 5."

The partnership agreement ends when the money runs out, but the government's procurement office has the option to renew or expand the contract if it sees fit. For example, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said it also is making NASA's relationship with HP its mandatory contract for acquiring technology.

The deal is a boon for taxpayers as well since the contract specifies that HP's products must be guaranteed at or below U.S. General Services Administration schedule prices. That means the government is paying the lowest surcharge (0.6%), capped at $18,000 for orders more than $3 million, HP said in its announcement.

To date, HP said it has delivered more than $620 million worth of products and services to federal government agencies between 1992 and 2007 through previous NASA contracts.