Trying to find a novel's title and author.

[roguestorm]

The novel was printed as a mass market paperback, published about 1972 (or earlier). It may have been part of a series. The main characters were a guy (captain of his own spaceship), and his android/ cyborg companion. The first chapter involved a scene where their ship was "catapulted" off course after passing too close to a neutron star. Their ship got damaged in the process, and needed repairs, so they went in search of replacement parts. They found a planet with a very totalitarian society, but technologically undeveloped (not ready for space travel). The guy went incognito on said planet, leaving his android in charge of his damaged ship. He meets a rebel woman, who lets him hide with her. He later tangles with some gangs and/ or members of the planet's corrupt secret police. (His mission there may have involved more than finding parts/ seeking repairs.) He eventually gets captured, and is sentenced to public execution. The final climactic scene involves the staging of his execution, and his android buddy dramatically returning to save him.