SpaceX has ~80 launches and recovered the booster ~40 times so the technology is very real and fully operational. The "cheap" part is somewhat questionable bec

SpaceX has ~80 launches and recovered the booster ~40 times so the technology is very real and fully operational. The "cheap" part is somewhat questionable because current prices are lower but still comparable to those of traditional providers. This is likely because fixed costs are high and there is limited demand from satellite operators. A big part of the reason SpaceX is jumping into the satellite business is to create demand for itself and fully exploit Falcon 9 technology.