launching vs commencement

launching and commencement both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
launching	Yes	No	No	No
commencement	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, commencement is a hypernym of launching; that is, commencement is a word with a broader meaning than launching:

Other hypernyms of launching include beginning, start.

launching (noun)	commencement (noun)
the act of propelling with force	the act of starting something
the act of beginning something new	an academic exercise in which diplomas are conferred
the act of moving a newly built vessel into the water for the first time	the time at which something is supposed to begin