A drone delivery service designed to help transport medical samples and medication will start its test flights this month along the Interstate 44 corridor between Springfield and St. Louis.

The startup’s first step will be to gain approval from medical providers to transport blood and tissue samples that can speed up the process of assessing matches for organ donations. Reducing that time can help get organs to patients in need faster.

“A cancer patient who needs infusions — imagine instead of them having to travel two or three hours to get to the cancer center that we can fly those medications out to them,” said Lori Worthington, executive director of the Joplin Regional Alliance for Health Care. “They can be administered at their primary care office, that's close to home.”

Valkyrie UAS Solutions is renting space for its operation from Missouri S&T, has three full-time employees onsite and is looking to hire two pilots and six interns in the coming months.

“This partnership creates opportunities for new jobs,” said Rolla City Administrator Keith Riesberg, ?and the investments in the community serve as a launch pad for future opportunities.”

The first step is for the drones to make numerous test flights equipped with sensors to show hospitals the technology will work. Once those are complete, Valkyrie will look to get 10,000 hours of flight time using the drones for additional Federal Aviation Administration permissions.