They did a lot of stuff like that, but the work to launch a new service wasn't only technical and some of the non automated works was there partly to enforce checkpoints on the other stuff. For example to get your service mapped through the load balancers required you to prove you'd been approved for launch by executives, so the process required filing a ticket. It's probably all different now though.

I should also note that "launch" in Google speak means "make visible to the world". If you only wanted your service to be available for Googlers it was dramatically easier and the infrastructure was entirely automatic with zero approvals being easily possible.