Page "Orientation (geometry)" Paragraph 30

The attitude of a rigid body is its orientation as described, for example, by the orientation of a frame fixed in the body relative to a fixed reference frame.

The attitude is described by attitude coordinates, and consists of at least three coordinates.

One scheme for orienting a rigid body is based upon body-axes rotation ; successive rotations three times about the axes of the body's fixed reference frame, thereby establishing the body's Euler angles.

Another is based upon roll, pitch and yaw, although these terms also refer to incremental deviations from the nominal attitude