If you Get Info for your Launchpad.app, then use your admin powers to change Sharing & Permissions for 'everyone' to read and write, you can drag Launchpad into the trash. (dragging to desktop will just make an alias)
Probably best to take it out of the trash and compress it, or back it up before proceeding to test the effects of its absence on the System.
Someone's probably already tried an install from the App store with launchpad deleted. I don't care to test that out myself right now.