Heinlein's semiballistic transports come a little bit closer I note that the flight path artfully threads the Bering Strait, managing not to overfly US land or Russian either.

I noticed that a few days ago. It was inevitable, IMHO, because what Virgin Galactic/Scaled Composities is doing is essentially a semiballistic. Their purpose is to carry passengers to the edge of space, not hop between points on earth, but the technology would work no matter where you land the vehicle. Ditto SpaceX. The barriers to space are slowly coming down. I think *this* time there's enough momentum and the technology is at a point where it won't be stillborn. <fingers crossed>