Does the Launch Date schedule my campaign?

No. The Launch Date field in the campaign form is saved with the campaign and shown in its details, but the ad server does not wait for it: an approved campaign is shown as soon as its On/Off switch is on and you have balance left, whatever date it carries.

To start a campaign on a particular day, submit it early enough for the review and keep its On/Off switch off until that day. There is no end date either: a campaign runs until you switch it off.