A tool flow is presented for deriving acceleratorcircuits on an FPGA from ANSI C source code by exploring architecturesolutions that conform to a preset template through scheduling andmapping algorithms. A case study carried out on simulatedannealing-based scheduling software used for spacecraft systems isexplained. The goal of the tool is the derivation of a design thatmaximizes throughput while minimizing footprint. Results obtained arecompared with a peer C to RTL tool, a space-borne embedded processor and acommoditydesktop processor for a variety of problems.