  For space-based astronomical observations, it is important to have a
mechanism to capture the digital output from the standard detector for further
on-board analysis and storage. We have developed a generic (application- wise)
field-programmable gate array (FPGA) board to interface with an image sensor, a
method to generate the clocks required to read the image data from the sensor,
and a real-time image processor system (on-chip) which can be used for various
image processing tasks. The FPGA board is applied as the image processor board
in the Lunar Ultraviolet Cosmic Imager (LUCI) and a star sensor (StarSense)
(instruments developed by our group). In this paper, we discuss the various
design considerations for this board and its applications in the future balloon
and possible space flights.
