NED Co-ordinate Frame

The NED (North East Down) co-ordinate frame is used to express velocities and relative positions. The origin of the co-ordinate frame is the current position. From that origin, the north axis points true north and parallel to the line of latitude at that point. The east axis points perpendicular to the north axis and parallel to the line of longitude at that point. The down axis points directly down towards the centre of the Earth. See the figure below for a graphical representation of the NED co-ordinate frame at a position on the Earth.

Graphic Showing Geodetic, NED and ECEF Co-ordinates