My 2 cents may involve a new line of conspiracy thinking.

The Van Allen Radiation belt is prohibitive to space travel because of it's effects on electronics as well as humans.

Tho polar areas are near the magnetic axis and thus launches from this area could bypass the Radiation Belt effects...or at least minimize them.

I would like to suggest that rather than lost Ark's of the covenant, or lost Atlantis, that Antarctica is probably more related to clandestine space activities...

thoughts?