The recent book Strategic Innovation: Embedding Innovation as a Core Competency in Your Organization, by Nancy Tennant Snyder and Deborah L. Duarte, includes the following discussion of the definition of innovation:

Not surprisingly, the literature on innovation contains a wide array of definitions. One useful distinction comes from Kim Cameron and Dave Whetten (1998), who draw a line between continuous improvement and innovation. In their view, continuous improvement refers to incremental steps, while innovation involves discontinuous changes and breakthroughs. According to Peter Drucker (1985), innovation is a set of tools to create a new business. These tools can be learned and practiced. Gary Hamel (1998) redefines innovation as strategic innovation -- the capacity to reconceive the existing business model in ways that create new value for customers and stakeholders and advantage over the competition.

Building on these definitions, as well as the definition of space logistics and spacefaring mastery addressed earlier, a definition of space logistics innovation is shown below.   Please read first the text in bold and then read this definition a second time including the text in parentheses that further differentiates space logistics innovation.

Discontinuous changes and breakthroughs (as opposed to continuous improvement) in space logistics capabilities (not just science and technology or breakthrough system designs) sufficient to enable the mastery of space operations (to establish a new business model of safe, affordable, and routine space operations) to create significantly new value from space (to exploit and explore space to assure national and planetary security, economic benefit, and scientific discovery).

This approach to space logistics innovation will be used by the SLTC to guide the exploration and definition of new space logistics architectures that support the emergence of true spacefaring capabilities.